Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the rings in any way shape or form.
The Edge
I stare at the bottomless nothing; that which keeps me from my goal. What should I do? I think, I guess I can't do
anything. I just have to move on. I take a step back and turn away, camouflaging the abyss in my soul. I finally come to
from my meditation on the rocky outcropping of the ancient ruins. The smell of the sea hangs heavy, and the sound of
the waves hammering the shore is drowning out even the cries of the gulls. It is a few moments before I spoke to the
man next to me as I regrouped my thoughts.
"Call up the men, form the regiments, recall the entire army. We shall soon have a battle to fight. Get my horse as well;
Melwathul has been stabled long enough. I have need to ask for aid in Loderia, the lands where dwarves, men, and
elves all live in harmony. "I said quietly to the man. He was my captain and friend for a millennium.
"Yes, Sir. But, where are we going? There has been no word of any demon incursions anywhere." He looks down at
me with an inquisitive mask. I look up and gave him a good look over before my reply.
"I feel a stirring of the evil in a land not too far. A land I once called home. Have the men gather at Brelain Point in five
days. I will be there already, good luck." I get up, slowly and walk down to where my horse stands, and saddle up
without another word. We know each other too well to need to say a good bye.
My long blond hair flies behind me as my horse races along the road. I just sit and watch for signs of trouble on the
road ahead, letting the horse find its way on the old dirt road. I breathe the air deeply and re-adjust myself in the
saddle. Today really is a wonderful day. The sun feels warm, and the clouds are nowhere to be seen. Why I did not
notice these things before is a mystery. I guess I have always just been too busy, ever since it, the end of life as I used
to know it. But that is behind me now, or I think so. If it is, why do I feel so empty? As though I will never feel whole
or able to trust again? Well, that does not matter now, it is the past.
I glance ahead, and I jerk the reins of my horse as far back as possible. Not more than a few feet in front of me are a
couple of trolls grinning stupidly. On their bellies is the painted insignia of my eternal enemy, the man that destroyed my
whole life and threw me into this torrent of loneliness and pain that ripped the immeasurable gap in my soul. "Alloh me
little 'un." It slurs at me. I am at this point utterly amazed it spoke that much; the next bit nearly knocks me off my
horse. "We 'ave ben aksed by da most 'onorable Grand Duke o' Sherman Wood ter kill ya. I would 'ighly
recommen' you don' struggle, it on'y makes it 'arder afor us."
"Shut it, you idiot!" is all I can muster at this point as I jump off my horse..
BIG mistake on my part as the lead troll picks up his club and yells at me "I am nice enough ter warn ye, an' ye can
only call me an' idiot? Tha' is jus' rude!" I am forced to cover my ears as the thing's war call erupts from its throat in a
bellow that shakes the trees around us, and makes the very ground jump as he charged me with his friend. I quickly
regain myself and my blade is drawn in a flash. Even through its shroud of rage and stupidity, it knows the blade, and
tries to stop. It is too late stupid, your fate is sealed! I think as they try to stop, but their bulk does not allow this.
"Selas faldan carthem friloth!" I yell, giving my blade some of my own magic, hoping it was enough to slice the thick
troll hides. The ground thunders as the trolls try to stop, but can't and I slice the first.
In the first moment that it resists, I am crestfallen, but it then passes through, and I dodge the second trolls club as it
yells in anger at the death of its companion, who I hit in the belly. They finally come to a stop, but the force of it topples
the first trolls top half off the bottom with a slick wet sounding shloooop. "Oooo kilt 'im!" the second roared in rage,
and charges me. I duck the swing, which destroys the tree next to me and swing up, slicing it In the neck, decapitating
it. With trolls, there is no blood and the head is stone before it hits the ground. I quickly whirl around to make sure
there is no more, before jumping back on Melwathul. "Come my friend, on to Loderia," I whisper to him and he is off
faster than an arrow from the string.
It is dark when I reach the gates, and all would appear fine, except that I notice a flash of metal, and a movement in the
bush next to me. "Salimous Luminous!" I whisper, throwing a light spell up.
Dozens of bows are drawn at me, "Halt! Hands up!" shouts one of the women before me. "For Loderia and the third
scouting company halt or thou shalt die!" A human woman yells at me from just in front of me.
I took a slow breath as I prepare to try to get out of this. "Lower your bows for I am not enemy. I am Glynn, War
Prince of old Niasa." I tell them as calmly as is possible.
It is not long before I get my reply. "Niasa was destroyed many years ago. Who are you? And be swift, I will not be
able to hold this bow forever," the apparent captain says quietly to me.
I was taught the best way is the most obvious way, so I did it. I throw back my dark cloak to reveal my shining armor,
the symbols of my name, rank, and the country I used, once upon a time, to serve easily seen by all. "Behold the last
lord of Niasa" I shout, and before anyone can blink, an arrow whistles by my ear. Half a second later, I am behind an
ancient oak, large enough for an entire colony of elves, as the war cries of the evil, lowly orcs becomes suddenly loud.
I quickly draw my bow and wait as I turn to face them. Barely on the edge of even my perception, I see them
marching. I decide to loose the first arrow, and quickly nock another, letting it go. Even as I do this, the woman-
fighters are hitting the cover, and getting ready, letting their own arrows go, dropping a dozens of orcs. Orcs are the
retches of middle earth. They are a ruined race, that spends its entire life pursuing the torture of all else. Life is not
sacred to them, and I hate them down to their green skin. How can anyone live a life preying on the weak? Such a life
is beyond my grasp to understand as elves are taught to help the weak. Not to roast them. I can barely hear the
captain over the cries of the orcs. "Form the left flank! I want the Center further back, right flank forward now!"
I turn and glance at her for a moment, drinking her beauty. I quickly turn back to the orcs and let another arrow go.
They are a mere couple of feet away when I draw my sword and charge, loosing my shield. I could barely hear the
human scouts call their charge as I smashed into the orc line. They tried to run from my legendary blade, but none were
fated to escape this night.
As the fighting finally drew to a close, I had the chance to find the captain. I finally found her, but she was dead.
Standing next to her was another woman, just as breathtakingly beautiful, even for a human. "She fought well," I
commented feeling it right to say. I took a second to take in the other women; she was the next in command.
"She was everything I wanted to be. This is a sad night. But you have proven yourself. Come, I shall take you into the
city." She motioned for the women to clean up the field, before turning towards the gate. "I am much sorry for having
to stop you, we have to be wary nowadays, someone tried too assassinate the lords. We can not be too careful." She
looks at me sideways. "Do I know you?"
I turn and look into her eyes. "That maybe, I was here about 20 years ago."
She all of a sudden looked at me wide-eyed, "You really are Glynn, I am sorry. I thought you might be an elf, but not
the legendary Glynn!" She is on the edge of hysterics as she gazes at my scarred armour and me.
"Yes, I am he. Most unfortunately I am." I turn away, as she continues to look me up and down, a look of awe on her
face. It is a few minutes until the gate is reached. From the shadows, a sentry calls down wanting to know who we are,
the new captain answers back with some sort of code, I soon found to be dwarvish. The great wooden doors creak
open as a dozen men push it open.
"Good luck Glynn, do not forget me please." The women says to me before leaving through the gate, and I have not to
this day forgotten the new captain of the 3rd Ranger Regiment of 1001.
The room is dim and quiet as I enter. The only sound is that of my heels clicking on the floor as I move to the center.
When I reach the center, I stop, and kneel before the assembled lords of Loderia.
"Name ye self stranger and be swift, we've not the time for this!" The human lord, swathed in silks, says slowly.
I take a quick look around this chamber to figure out who I shall have to deal with. I find that there is one human, one
dwarf, and one elf. The three lords of Loderia, those I must sway. The human will be the hardest to sway, the dwarf
will be greedy, but I know the elf, Lord Fraalath, he met me a millennia ago. "I am War Prince Glynn of Niasa. I have
come for aid." I say quickly, bowing my head, hoping to sway the human.
The lords seem to consider this for a second. The human speaks, "What is it you have come for? What is it you want
of our troubled land?" He asks me greedily. I can see through his eyes from where I stand into the very core of his
soul, and he is good. The outside is covered with greed though; so much, I can scarcely see the good in him.
Yet I still force a reply, "I have to raise an army, and my forces are too small for the task at hand. I have come for your
help." I keep my head down, hoping for more favor. They seem to consider this, and finally answer.
The dwarf is the one to speak, "An' how much wou' ye nee'? We are stretchin' thinne' with these orc attacks. So we
don' 'ave much ta spare." He looks honest enough as he speaks. The human glowers at this, but remains speechless,
my old friend remains speechless as well as unreadable.
I choose my words carefully, I need to be honest, yet make my requisition seem as small as possible. "A few regiments
of Florentines, a couple war machines, and a couple regiments of pikemen. That is all. Just enough for another line." I
wince at the last bit, a line numbers almost a thousand men. I look up at the waiting lords, all but the human seem to
find this reasonable.
"A thousand men? We are not Althose, we do not have that many! "I Flinch at Althose. It was once a rich elven city. It
had an army of nearly fifty thousand elves. Unheard of size for today's armies. What are ye crazy?" He does not yell,
but he might as well have. I felt my heart slip, until Fraalath spoke up.
"I have actually just gotten the report. Our armed forces number nearly te-thousand, I think we can find the extra men.
I just hope they are worth taking the risk." He stands up slowly, facing his peers. "I ask for the approval of my peers,
before acting upon his request and making it official," he says slowly, in the most official tone he can summon.
The dwarf stands up quickly, "I, Ralin Thundercrag, pledge to lend some of my forces in support of Glynn's appeal."
After this, he sits down slowly.
The human appears to begrudge it the most though, and looks like he will not stand for it. All of a sudden he stands, "I,
Heraldin Grimfist, Pledge not only to meet, but to exceed Glynn's requisition in light of my recent thoughts." With this
said, he winks at me and sits down, leaving me wondering what he is playing at.
Fraalath looks around, stopping on Heraldin for a second, before stopping on me. "You have our answer Glynn, of the
ancient empire Niasa. Go now, and good luck." With that, the meeting is over, and I turn on my heels. As I walk out,
I can hear the lords argue. I do not care, I have what I need of them. I reach the outside, and am met by a captain.
"We are ready for you my lord. Over a thousand men, and 5 war machines." He looks at me with no discernable
feelings, a finely trained, and venerable man.
As I look over the lines, I see all my demands are met, and I jump on Melwathul. I turn to him, "Let's get going, we
have along way, and no time." With that, I turn and ask Melwathul to keep pace to Brelain point. With a leap, we are
off to war.
"FORM THE RIGHT FLANK! CAPTAIN!" I yell for my friend above the roar of cannon fire. He turns briefly to me
to show he is listening, while dispatching another goblin, an evil stunted abomination of the towering orcs. They are
weaker, but even more evil and twice as cunning.
"Yes Sir?!" He yells back. It is five minutes into the thick of the battle, and we are cutting a swathe into the enemy
lines, and overturning their flanks.
"I want the left flank reformed, with the cavalry in a break head! The pike men at the next break, Florentines at the
lead!" I shout, as the cannons go off again, causing the ground to reverberate. I duck under my shield as a fullisade of
arrows hits us, and he is gone. The last arrow hits, and I renew my attack, sensing victory. I smash into the goblins,
sending dozens back to the dark abyss with each sweep of my blade. I am deep, when I find him, the enemy general.
He is a monstrous thing, taller than a catapult, wider than an old oak tree, dispatching dozens of my warriors at a time.
"FOR NIASA!" I yell as I charge him, his retinue steps to block me, but I slay each with incomparable ease. A dozen
of the enemy lords finest troops fall dead at my hand, and I make my way to this beast quickly to get my final revenge.
He grins evilly at me as I bear down on him, my sword at ready. As I reach him, I sense my opening close as the
enemy line reforms to trap me. I turn to look, and in that half a second, it all goes black. I awaken a few moments later
to find myself trapped in some sort of cage. "What the heck? What is this?" These few soft words seem to pound my
head. The back of my skull is a torrent of agony as I attempt to think. All around me, the battle rages on, but I don't
hear even a distant din of the battle. The cage is made of bars, but they appear to not be corporeal, as though I may
walk right through them. I slash them, but my sword merely clangs off, and I am suddenly blacked out again.
The sun is too bright, where am I? I look around. Where is the battle? Where are my troops? Where am I? This can't
be real. The field around me is a bright green, not the horrid scorched earth I passed out on moments before. The wind
is cool against my sun-warmed flesh. I took a quick look around, and fid the field seems endless, with not a living thing
in sight or sense.
"You are not alone Glynn. The very opposite in fact." A figure appears out of nowhere. "You are here for my help." It
was not a question, but it has an answer. "I know your next comment, and bite it. It is you that has failed. You failed
me, and your whole life. You are a waste!" Deltar spits at me as I sit sprawled on the grass. Deltara was once my
father, until he changed his allegiances. He sold my whole village, and eventually the empire of Niasa to the fate lord
Geldra, an evil being intent on the destruction of order and the reign of chaos. I killed my father in revenge at age 500
and now search for the figure that made him do it.
"It is not true! I beat you once, and I will do it again!" Bursts out of my throat at the figure that used to be my father. It
laughed at me, actually laughed at me. Such a thing had not been done for a millennia. I am in utter shock, trying to
figure this out. As I do, the thing draws a sword slowly.
"You let the village down, and killed me! Now I serve the dark one in eternal torment! ALL-BECAUSE-OF-YOU!"
it yells at me. It runs at me, blade ready to take my head.
I am done, this is all over for me. I will not survive this encounter. The figure seems to slow down, and I see for the first
time who "my father" really was; and it was not that thing. My eyes find that the soul of every villager is around me
now, I can see my mother and my real father, the man that gave his soul to save me, but ended up destroying the entire
village. The man who loved me. They are giving me their strength, and the demon slows even more. With my parent
blessing, I realize my sword is still in hand, and I block his swing. The swords ring with the power of the contact, and I
bring the blade around and catch the figure in the back. Ending his days of tormenting the people of this earth. I am
slammed into the ground, all of it gone ;the battle over. The demon is gone, a dent in the ground stealing his place. The
captins are running to m, in slow motion, but I do not care. I am in shock yet again, not because of he vision, but
because of th wetness on my cheeks. "I……I……I can feel." I mutter as I lay amid the corpses, as for the first time in
two millennia, I feel emotion. All of a sudden, a flood of emotions hit me with the full power of my life. And I burst out
crying, happily.
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