Well, another chapter, on time even. Um, not much else to say, just remember to read, relax, and review. Oh and see chapter one for the disclaimer because I only wish I owned LOTR.

'Oh Captain, My Captain'

As soon as Strider felt himself hit he opened his eyes, but he didn't know that he had his eyes closed. The sky was dark and he lay with his head staring up at the stars and his feet still in the forest, but he still breathed, even down here he breathed. He looked up at the sky and somehow knew that it wasn't midnight yet; he still had time in the test. Quickly he rolled over and pushed off like he had so many times before. When he rose he turned and saw something familiar, something that gave him the hope and courage to complete his task; he saw a fire. Beside it stood three men; Strider recognized them. Without a thought he took off running, ignoring the memory of what had happened before, reaching the fire in a matter of seconds. The three men turned to face him.

'I am here, my captain,' Strider lowered his head in respect for his captain. Yestin's face twisted slightly as he forced himself not to show his pride in Strider, at the same time however he looked the man over carefully, but quickly so as to not be noticed. He was covered in cut and bruises; his own blood mixed with dirt to add a reddish tinge to his skin; and his eyes showed his weariness, even if his body did not.

'Aye you are,' he responded stoically, forcing himself to ignore the wounds, 'and you have passed the test.' Strider allowed his shoulders to sink in relief. 'But you are not a ranger yet for there is one more step.'

'I am ready, my captain,' Strider straightened himself and raised his head to meet his captain's glance. 'What must I do?'

'Go out to the furthest stretch of the camp and keep watch until the sun rises in five hours time.' Strider gave him a strange look, 'Do not be easily fooled by the simplicity of this task for it will challenge you in a way that you have not been in the past three days. You will battle an unseen enemy as you await the sun's first glare. Go now and wait for sunrise.'

With that Strider turned to find the farthest reach of the camp. Once he reached it, he found a spot on the grass and settled down to wait for sunrise as he had been told to do. Not even twenty minutes later, when the adrenalin began to diminish from his system and the thrill and excitement of having made it out of the forest, thus completing the third stage wore off he began to rub his eyes, trying to get rid of the first effects of sleep. Ten minutes later he began to yawn and found that he could not stop, not even the pain that was trying to force its way back would keep him awake. Another five minutes later he felt his eyelids droop and felt his body falling forwards, but managed to catch himself before he tumbled on to the grass. Quickly he stood, true he was awake now, but he didn't trust himself to sit. Standing, he decided would be much better, yes, he thought to himself, much better. Already he felt much more awake than he had been even thirty minutes ago.

But it took no more than thirty minutes until he began to feel the effects of sleep again, even though he stood. He began with rubbing his eyes, but didn't allow it to go any further as he began to pace. But alas that didn't work as he soon found his eyelids drooping even as he paced. Clearly, he thought, there had to be a better way of staying awake. Searching for an answer, he stopped to look up at the sky. It was a clear night; he could see every single star in the sky.

After several minutes, though, of gazing up at the sky his neck began to ache, but he didn't want to take his eyes off the stars, they were so beautiful, he hadn't looked at them in so long, since he left Rivendell, he recalled. How could he have forgotten such beauty that even dared to rival that of the Evenstar. Strider recalled when he first met her; it was a week before his eighteenth birthday. She was there to see Elladan for he had been terribly wounded during an Orc hunt and they did not expect him to survive the week. She never left her brother's bedside, for which Strider was very grateful as they spend the days comforting one another until Elladan had regained his health. He was infatuated with her from the moment he saw her enter the gates, but he never let Lord Elrond know nor his brothers for she was his sister and thus he could only dream of being wed to her. That is until a few days before his twentieth birthday when she arrived once again, this time to celebrate the Coming of Age of her youngest brother. He remembered everything about the day.

He was walking in the gardens when he came upon her sitting by the warm springs in the middle. She was dangling her feet in the water for it was a chilly day.

'Arwen,' he began, 'I did not expect to see you out here.'

'And why not little brother? Is it not a lovely day for sitting in the gardens?' she replied playfully.

'Yes, but it is a little chilly.'

'Cold does not affect elves, has eighteen years in the House of Elrond not taught you that?'

'Of course it has, but... I mean... you are...' he trailed off, as her laughing over took his stammering. Slightly embarrassed, he blushed and then when he realized that he had, he tried to hide it by turning away.

'Is there something wrong ion nin?' she asked him.

'Nay,' he answered his head down, still facing away from her.

'Then why do you turn from me? Does my look hurt you?' She sounded saddened, yet concerned for his well-being.

'Nay,' he turned quickly, 'it does not. It never would. You have a beauty indescribable.' Now it was her turn to blush, taken aback by the remark, she lowered her head for a moment, to regain her composure.

'That is very sweet of you, ion nin,' she looked at her brother, 'but there seems to be something more.'

'Nay,' he answered her, 'there is only what cannot happen.'

'Of what do you speak?'

'Nothing, 'tis nothing dear sister, just a foolish dream,' he shook his head, lowering it slowly until he stared at the ground. He heard the water ripple slightly, her legs playfully kicking in the water, no doubt he thought until he felt a soft touch under his chin. She lifted his head up until their eyes met.

'Tell me of it, for naught is foolish if two have the same dream.'

He sighed, thinking back to that day, he could still remember her hand caressing his cheek as they shared their feelings for each other; the scent of her hair as she leaned over to whisper in his ear, telling a tale of their brothers when they were elflings. He wanted to tell Lord Elrond, but she wouldn't let him; she said it was too dangerous. She couldn't tell him why, he just had to promise not to tell anyone of their love for one another. Even now he loved her, even now he thought, now that their love was forever forbidden. Arwen, that was the one thing he missed, the one elven thing he truly wanted back. He would do anything for her; he would even beg Elrond to forgive him, if only he could have her back. But that was impossible for Elrond would forbid it, regardless.

As he drifted back to reality, he found that he was lying on the ground, but not tired in the slightest. With his hands he traced the stars, going from the Cradle of Ilúvatar where life sprang out of across the sky to the House of Elendil, the ancestral home of the Heirs of Isildur and Kings of Elendil. The house was upside down, a sign of the turmoil in the House of Elendil for the line of kings was broken many years ago by Isildur and so the Valar set it upside down to show Middle-Earth of the Disappointment of Man.

He looked up at the House, the stars seemed to be rather dim tonight despite the clear sky; even the Cradle of Ilúvatar even seemed dimmer tonight, but the one star that shone brightly, more than usual was the Star of Elendil, at the tip of the House, holding everything together lest it should crumble to pieces. Already it seemed to be, over time the stars had moved out of alignment, causing the walls to be crooked. The House was falling apart before the eyes of Middle-Earth; many said it could fall before the end of this Age.

Surprisingly he felt more calm and at ease as he laid on the grass wet from the night's dew. He listened to the gentle flow of the river, crashing gently against the banks as it flowed; he listened to the crickets' song, singling out one as he listened to it play a solo for him. Before long, though, he felt the first rays of heat as the sun crept up to the horizon and started to block out the stars. Soon he would complete the final task, just another twenty minutes and the sun would first appear on the horizon. Then he could return to camp and claim his right to be called a Ranger.

Standing, he stretched and stood with his hands on his hips. The pain from his wounds had fades as he stood waiting for the sun to rise. And sure enough, the sun rose twenty minutes later at which time he turned to head back to camp, but in front of him stood Glynn, his ranger brooch, shinning brightly in the early morning light.

'My friend,' he began, 'why have you come?'

'I am here to escort you back to camp Strider, this test is over,' Glynn didn't seem his normal self, but he wasn't as stoic as Yestin or Romney were, but still it made him nervous. Yet he followed behind the healer as they made the short trip to the center of camp. There stood Yestin and Romney, their expressions had not changed. Glynn stopped a few feet in front of Yestin, motioning for Strider to stand before Romney.

'My captain, this morning I present to you Strider and ask you to take under consideration him as a member of this unit. I ask for you to bestow upon him the title of Ranger and grant him the kinship and honor that comes with the title.'

'Why?' The reply was blunt.

'Thus far he has met all of the qualifications to be called a ranger. Last night shortly before midnight, he returned to camp escaping from the forest in less than three days time. And just now he has completed the final test. By all rights he is a Ranger.'

'All but one,' Yestin replied.

'Aye,' Glynn agreed. Their conversation seemed rehearsed, like it was a standard dialogue.

'Can you vouch for this man, this stranger?'

'Yes, my captain. He has proven himself worthy of the title; he will not let his fellow rangers down.'

'You swear this upon your Oath, upon your own life,' Yestin looked hard into the healer's eyes trying to force him to blink.

'I swear this upon my own life,' Glynn asserted firmly, touching his ranger brooch as a sign of his honor, 'that he will uphold the honor and dignity of the rangers.'

'As you swear this, take a step back and allow Strider to come forth.' Glynn stepped back, giving Strider the room to move over and face Yestin directly.

'This man has just sworn his life that you will uphold the honor and dignity of the rangers? Will you spare his life?'

Without hesitation Strider answered, 'Yes, I will.'

'Then kneel and endure the Oath of the Ranger.'

Strider slowly moved to his knees, but kept his eyes on Yestin; he wasn't too fond of the word endure; it had a nasty connotation after trekking through the forest for three days and nearly dying.

'Strider, stranger,' Strider felt a slight pang of guilt when all that was said after his name was stranger, that was all he was to people, a stranger, 'will you swear to uphold the codes and honor that the fallen kings of Arnor, descendents of Isildur set in place and this kinship of rangers has fought to protect?'

'Aye, I will' Strider answered.

'And will you go to the aid of others who cannot defend themselves without worry or concern for your own life; will you answer the call of the rangers whenever they should call, no matter where you are; will you fight for justice and swear upon the truth for the sake of the good; and will you fight for the right of others to live that they may have voices of their own and be part of this world?'

'I will.'

'Then put forth your right palm,' Strider raised the requested hand without hesitation. Yestin pulled, from his waist, a small dagger. Light from the early morning sun hit the markings on the blade, making them shine brightly. Yestin grabbed a hold of Strider's hand and cut horizontally across his palm with the knife, leaving a three inch long gash on the man's hand. Strider hardly noticed the pain, as the pain from his own wounds was now beginning to come back.

'Repeat after me Strider. By the spilling of this blood from my body, I swear to remain true to the rangers and live amongst them until death departs me from this world.'

'By the spilling of this blood from my body I swear to remain true to the rangers and live amongst them until departs me from this world,' Strider kept his eyes locked on Yestin as he repeated the oath.

'Take this,' Yestin placed a brooch in Strider's bloody palm, 'then, the Brooch of the Rangers, for I now bestow upon you the title of Ranger. You are now entitled to all of the rights of the rangers, but a word of caution. Do not take this new title lightly; you spend your life in many dangers for the life of a ranger is not an easy one.'

'Aye, my captain,' Strider answered his new captain formally.

'Rise now and be accepted by your brothers.' With that Strider rose, though he was rather unsteady, he tried to hide it but his wavering was not missed by Glynn, who immediately rushed to his side.

'I am fine my friend, I just need a little nourishment for I haven't eaten anything substantial in a few days nor have I had a drink,' Strider tried to reassure the healer of his health.

'I am not an idiot Strider; I can see that you have sustained grievous wounds. It is a wonder to me that you have been able to make it this far, but with that pigheaded mind of yours set on nothing but becoming a ranger I should not be surprised at all. You're just a foolish kid, nothing but a foolish kid who wants everything for himself; a foolish, greedy kid,' as Glynn railed on he failed to notice Strider's rapidly decreasing condition. The man was beginning to sway heavily on his feet, his finger tips began to lose color, and his face began to drip with water. It was only when he heard a gasping and choking, that Glynn looked over to see Strider standing with feverish, glazed over eyes, struggling to get a breath. When Glynn laid him on the ground Strider had stopped breathing and when Yestin knelt beside the new ranger, he did not live.

Reviewer's Responses

Poppa Jon- gee, I didn't remember'd all of those times, but thanks for the refresher.

viggomaniac- thanks for the corrections, you're right about that though. I'll probably go back and change those things when the story's done. I don't take it as a criticism, in fact I appreciate you noticing the mistakes.

Isadora2- yeah, I shouldn't have more time in college, but I do, it's very strange, but I like it.

grumpy- well he found the rangers, but will he be with them for long?

sielge- well here's another chapter, hope you like it