Chapter 5

As Eomer reached the top of a hill he looked down into the shallow valley below gathered below were hundreds of elves gathered into disciplined rows marching across the plains of Rohan. Someone issued an order and the elves all stopped. Eomer cautiously led his men down to meet with the commander of the Elven army.

"The King of Rohan wishes to speak with the leader of the army who treads upon our land," Eomer declared.

A tall and fair female elf stepped forward in front of Eomer. "I am Galadriel, Lady of Lothlorien and leader of these elves." She said.

"And I am Eomer, King of Rohan," Eomer replied not dismounting from his horse.

While everything seemed perfectly normal Eomer couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. His horse also seemed to be nervous as it constantly snorted and shuffled underneath him.

"What business do you have in these lands?" Eomer asked.

"We have come to rid these lands of the threat of Isengarde," Galadriel replied calmly.

"Well if that is truly the case then you elves certainly have a bad sense of direction; for you are heading in the exact opposite direction of Isengarde." Eomer said.

"That is because the threat of Isengarde has already been neutralized," Galadriel explained. "And we are now dealing with the next threat to the ruler ship of Middle-Earth."

"And what's that?" Eomer asked. "Mordor?"

"No," Galadriel responded coldly. "Men."

She held up her hand and the sky grew dark. All the horse became very nervous. Eomer glared at Galadriel. She met his stare, her blue eyes had suddenly become as black as coal. She spread her arms and all the elves suddenly charged at Eomer and his men. Eomer noticed that had become terrible ferial creatures. Their features were distorted and they had sharp fang protruding from their mouths. The elves launched themselves at the horses and began stabbing them. One by one Eomer's men fell and the elves began eating them alive. Eomer's horse panicked and took off through the crowd carrying Eomer away from gruesome carnage. Eomer didn't even notice, his mind was still in shock and he stayed that way as his horse carried him away.

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Eomer had no idea how long his horse had been going. The animal was so frighten that Eomer didn't think it would ever stop. However, Eomer himself was still numb with horror at what he had witnessed. The horse leapt over the remains of what had once been a farm fence. Eomer was jerked out of his saddle and hit the ground roughly. He watched unmoving and uncaring as the horse continued on without him. He lay there for a while and then the world went black.

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When Eomer awoke he was looking at the ceiling of a log cabin. He sat up in bed and looked around. He seemed to be in a small cabin. There was a fireplace with a fire burning in it and a table with four simple wooden chairs around it. Sitting in one of those chairs was an old man, with a long white beard, who was dressed in white robes. A staff sat nearby him. Eomer did not recognize the man, his initial thought was that it was Sarumon. However he had Sarumon and knew that this was not the same man.

"You're awake," the old man said. "That is good. You have been asleep for a long time."

Eomer began to feel it. His entire body felt stiff from lack of use. He put his feet down on the floor and pushed himself up to his feet. His legs felt wobbly as though it was his first time standing.

"How long have I been asleep?" Eomer asked.

"Several months," the old man replied.

Eomer walked over on his unsteady legs and sat down in a chair beside the old man.

"You seem familiar," Eomer said to this. "Who are you?"

"I am Gandalf," the old man replied.

"Gandalf the Grey?" Eomer inquired with curiosity and surprise.

"Not anymore," Gandalf answered. "Now I am Gandalf the White."

Eomer was both surprised and excited at this news. He new Gandalf to be a well travelled individual.

"Tell me Gandalf, what has happened in the lands of Rohan and the rest of Middle Earth?" Eomer requested.

"The Ring of Power has fallen into the hands of Galadriel of Lothlorien," Gandalf reported. "The ring has corrupted her and made her desire conquest and domination over all of Middle Earth. The elves of Lothlorien have been corrupted and Rivendell is suffering similar corruption."

"How is this possible?" Eomer asked.

"Galadriel is indeed a very powerful sorceress," Gandalf said. "The ring has heightened her power to a point where it has possibly made her more powerful than Sauron himself at his peak. In her hands the ring allows her to do almost anything she desires, but as you should know it also corrupts those that wearer to become an all conquering tyrant."

"Is there nothing we can do to save Galadriel?" Eomer queried thinking that it would be a shame to kill such a beautiful woman.

Gandalf shook his head, "Unfortunately the ring has completely corrupted Galadriel. Even if it were to be taken from her and destroyed her mind would still be lost."

Eomer stared blankly at the table in front of him, "What must we do to stop her?" he asked without looking up at Gandalf.

"We need to gather an army to stand against her," Gandalf replied. "Your sister has gathered the elves of Mirkwood who have not yet been corrupted by Galadriel's power. The Kingdom of Gondor also still remains."

"And what of Galadriel?" Eomer asked.

"It would appear as though she is consolidating her forces and establishing a base of power at Isengarde." Gandalf replied. "Since there is no plans to attack her there has not been any sort of information gathered on what is happening in Isengarde."

Eomer allowed all this information to soak into his mind. He finally looked back up at Gandalf.

"Where are we?" he asked.

"We are in Mirkwood," Gandalf replied. "After I found you I brought you here, the elves and your sister have been nursing you back to health. You two are amongst the few remaining survivors of Rohan. All of whom have fled the Kingdom to either here or to Gondor. Your sister has been visiting you everyday in the hopes that you will awaken. She will be very pleased to see you."

Eomer was filled with mixed emotions. He was eternally thankful and glad that his sister had survived and that she had been taken in by the elves of Mirkwood. However, the news that his kingdom had been emptied of all men was news that brought great sadness to Eomer's heart. He looked up at Gandalf and forced himself to smile.

"Yes," he said. "I'm sure she will."

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The reunion between Eomer and Eowyn was a joyous one. Neither one of them spoke about what had happened to Rohan, but instead they were just happy to see each other.

Afterwards they met with King Thranduil; he agreed that they must do everything in their power to take the ring back from Galadriel. Thranduil promised that he would provide all the help he could to battle Galadriel, he also agreed to provide Eomer and Eowyn with an escort to Gondor. Thranduil gave five of his best warriors on hand to travel with the last members of the Rohan royal line to Gondor. Then, after thanking Thranduil, they were off on their journey.