In An Age Before – Part 119

In Osgiliath the king's council of war had continued 'til 'nigh the noon hour, with many plans and many details being considered. 'Twas decided that the available cavalry should waylay the road south of Minas Anor, whither the southward bend of Anduin narrowed the land in Mindolluin's shadow. Thither would go such horsemen as were stationed in Osgiliath and the Tower of the Sun, along with the companies of Northmen 'neath the command of Anræd and Hæleþ. Their orders were to bloody and delay, as much as was possible, the advance of Castamir's cavalry ere the infantry could join it, for King Eldacar would not cede the rich tillage of the Pelennor Fields and the approach to Osgiliath unfought. Other preparations for war there were to make…the mustering of reserves, the gathering of provisions, and the bringing within the walls those citizens who dwelt in the lands 'nigh yet chose not to flee north to Anárion. Within the city, counter batteries of artillery were placed, with their crews and shot in the public spaces within the wall upon the western bank, whilst archers were stationed beside the watchmen upon the walls themselves. The preparations began at noon, and were carried out swiftly and efficiently 'neath the command of Thavronand Celegúr. Similar preparations were underway in Minas Anor, and by order of the king, in Minas Ithil as well, coordinated by Captain-General Borgil.

"By Pengthír's reckoning we have still three days grace," Eldacar told Helluin as they sat in his study on the evening of the 12th, "and 'tis my hope that at least the garrison of Cair Andros shalt arrive in time to reinforce us."

"Such may or may not come to pass, O King," Helluin replied, "for 'tis some fifteen leagues upon the river each way 'twixt Cair Andros and the city, yet word must reach them by horse, and then they must muster and finally march. T'will be a close thing, I wager, and perhaps better if they come hither by water than by land."

The king sat silent, calculating the distance and time. Afoot, t'would be a march of one and one-half days from the isle to the city.

"My lord, thou hast one measure as yet untaken, and I understand not thy reasoning, for by it much knowledge could thou gain," Helluin said. "Pray tell, why has no use been made of thy palantír? 'Neath thy Dome of Stars rests the master stone of Elendil's realm of old."

At her words the king blanched and he clasped his hands tightly together, anxiety writ plain upon his face.

"Not since the days of my grandsire Rómendacil have any looked upon that stone," Eldacar said softly, "and though he gained of it a vision of his enemies in the east, still 'twas regarded even in his day as a thing perilous to gaze into, lest one be seen as well by the greater foe of our people. 'Tis said the last to use it with confidence was Hyarmendacil, and none so great have ruled since."

Incredible! Hither have the Dúnedain a gift of old and a power close to hand, and they fear to use it! 'Tis the legacy of Alcarin and Narmacil and Calmacil, I wager…lesser kings of a greater forebear, a thing even they must have recognized at heart. And now 'tis Vinitharya, raised in distant Rhovanion, who fears what in truth he know'th not. Yet 'tis his by right of birth, to hold and to use, for now, he is King of Gondor.

"My lord, I bid thee come with me to the Chamber of the Palantír 'neath the Dome of Stars. Not since the days of Tarannon Falastur have I seen the Osgiliath Stone, yet such stones I have used aforetime. 'Tis but a tool, to be wielded by those who have the strength and the right to use it. I deem thou hast both."

Ere the king could reply, a chamberlain rapped upon the door, and when he was bidden to enter, announced that, "Prince Ornendil has returned from hunting in Ithilien and attends thee."

Into the study strode a Man of five-score and seven years age who, like his father, appeared to Helluin's eye every bit a pure-blooded Dúnadan.

"Father, I returned as soon as word reached me," the prince said hastily. Then, seeing that his father was not alone, came to a halt, adding, "thy pardon, m'lady," and offered a bow.

"I am glad to see thee safely returned, my son," Eldacar said, both relieved at his son's presence within the city and for the break from his conversation with Helluin. Then he introduced her, saying, "to our aid has come Helluin Úlairdacil, of whom thou hast read much lore."

Helluin had risen and returned the prince's bow, whilst the prince looked at her with much curiosity.

"'Tis my pleasure to greet thee and find thee safe, Prince Ornendil."

"Mai omentane, Heldalúne Maica i móremenel Finwë i rimbo¹" Ornendil said. ¹(Mai omentane, Heldalúne Maica i móremenel Finwë i rimbo, Well met, Helluin Maeg-móremenel of the Host of Finwë = Mai(well) + omenta-(meet of two) + -ne(imperf past suff) +Finwë + i(def art, the) + rimbe(host) + -o(sing genitive suff, of) In Quenya, the genitive proceeds the noun it modifies except with proper names and titles where it follows. Quenya)

Helluin smiled, surprised to hear the prince greet her in Quenya, rather than the more commonly used Sindarin.

"Lore and language my son has always loved," Eldacar said, "and even in his youth, upon each stay in Osgiliath, he engaged the learned and the wise, and spent many hours in the libraries and achieves reading ancient accounts of Gondor's history, and the history of Númenor which came afore. One day he shalt be a wise king."

The pride and love in Eldacar's voice bespoke his esteem for his elder son, and perhaps too, Helluin thought, an esteem for knowledge which he himself had learnt in lesser measure.

"One day I hope to visit Imladris, and by the leave of the Lord Elrond Peredhel, learn such of the Elder Days as he or his folk might be willing to teach," Ornendil said.

"I believe the Lord Elrond would be glad to receive thee, O Prince, for he is the wisest in lore now in Middle Earth," Helluin said. "Perhaps in days of peace, thy hope shalt come true, and should there be the time, I too would be glad to offer thee whatsoe'er I can tell…of Númenor and Beleriand that were, and of Aman that shalt e'er be."

"Then I shalt pray for the end of this war and for the blessings of peace."

"As do we all, my son."

For some moments the three reflected upon the current threat and the possibilities beyond, yet soon, Helluin broached again the topic that she and Eldacar had discussed ere the return of the prince.

"My lord, concerning that of which we spoke…"

"My son, 'tis Helluin's opinion that I should seek for knowledge of the enemy in the Seeing Stone," Eldacar said, to which the prince responded with obvious excitement.

"Father, the kings of old had great profit of the palantíri, and their use is now thy right. I too would encourage thee, and what time better than with the aid of one from whose folk those stones were first gifted long ago?"

For some moments the king sat, weighing their arguments against his fear, yet in the end, their words and his own reluctance to be cowed won out and he gave his assent.

"Very well then. With the aid of one knowing the practice and the perils of such stones, I shalt chance its use. Come, let us go to the Chamber of the Palantír."

Accompanied by a detail of a dozen Guards of Osgiliath, the king, the prince, and the Noldo made their way hence to the Dome of Stars, and then, leaving the detail to guard the door, entered the Chamber of the Palantír. To Helluin's eyes, 'twas unchanged since her visit in the time of Berúthiel, save that the dust upon the floor lay somewhat thicker whither the few footprints of a century past had disturbed it not.

Upon a central pedestal stood the Seeing Stone, swaddled 'neath a coverlet of black velvet bearing an emblem of the White Tree. The three approached it, coming to stand in a circle about the pedestal, their passage sending up motes of dust that floated in the slanting rays of sunlight from the encircling row of high-placed clerestory windows.

Now as the king and the prince eyed her with expectant expressions, Helluin gingerly lifted and lowered to the floor the shroud, hoping by her care to raise a lessened cloud of dust. She marked her success by bringing only a single sneeze from the prince.

"I bid thee gaze deeply into the stone and concentrate upon whatsoe'er vision thou would see, O King," Helluin said. "Perhaps a vista of this city's royal precinct?"

King Eldacar leant in towards the palantír, bringing his face to within inches of its surface and scrunching his brow, whilst glaring at the stone with jaw tight clenched, (the act of a pure neophyte, Helluin observed). His exertion was rewarded with a swirl of light in the depths of the stone that circled its equator once ere it fizzled out.

Helluin exerted her will to maintain her comportment at the expression of mingled wonder, shock, and triumph upon the king's face when he looked up to her from the stone.

"My lord, the palantír is thy tool and acts at thy service. Approach it as thou would a horse long familiar to thy hand, rather than as a foe to be bludgeoned," Helluin recommended with an admirably straight face. "Close proximity is not required, for with practice thou shalt be able to move the stone to action from anywhere simply by casting thy thought upon it. Thy presence is necessary simply for to see whatsoe'er it may show."

Now the king made several trials with increasing finesse and finally conjured an image of the city center as seen from the eye point of a bird winging o'erhead. He even managed to shift the vision such that for a short moment, a vista downriver appeared ere he lost control and the palantír again went dark. Yet that success did much to bolster both his confidence and control, and on the next attempt he maintained the viewing for a full minute ere he stood away, closing his eyes and breathing deep to recover from the exertion of maintaining thus his focused will.

"My lord, I commend thy success this day," Helluin said, "and with time and practice thou shalt see such as thou command, and speak at whiles with thy subjects in Orthanc, Minas Anor, and Minas Ithil. Perhaps even shalt thou speak with thy brothers in the North Kingdom, for Araphor of Arthedain has now in his keeping at Fornost Erain the stones of Annúminas and Amon Sûl."

"Perhaps so, with time and practice," Eldacar said as he straightened from his respite, "yet for now, 'tis as a labor to me."

Now the prince had watched all in silence, but finally he added, "father, in this way hast thou proven by yet another token thy right to rule and the propriety of thy succession. When thou can do thus in greater comfort, t'would be a strong argument in thy favor against any doubting nobles."

Appreciating the acumen of the prince, Helluin nodded in agreement of his reasoning, yet e'er practical, the king said, "upon some day to come I shalt heed thy counsel, my son, yet already war marches upon us and our desire for information still remains."

Then, turning to Helluin, he said, "of old was this stone gifted to my forefathers by thy people. If thou hast knowledge of the use of such, Helluin, would thou seek for a vision of our enemy?"

'Twas exactly the request Helluin had hoped for.

"By thy leave, O King, I shalt be glad to espy the march of the traitor and his soldiery, and take the measure of our jeopardy," Helluin replied.

Then, 'neath the close scrutiny of the king and the prince, Helluin cast her will upon the stone. Familiar was this palantír from her furtive encounter in the days of Berúthiel, and it responded with an immediate vision of the road leading south from Osgiliath. With increasing speed, Helluin commanded its viewpoint hence, traversing the breadth of Lossarnach and Lebennin in a stomach clenching lurch of some hundred miles. Thither she found the encampment of the rebels being set in the daylight's waning hour, with many tents pitched and many horses picketed upon both sides of the road o'er a distance of some two miles.

Now after a quick search to take the measure of the gathered forces, the Noldo marked the pennant flying from the center pole of one large tent, and to this tent she directed the vision, closer and closer, 'til it seemed they actually walked through the retracted flap and into the interior. In shock did King Eldacar view those gathered in council within. Thither sat Castamir, with his captains and allies, viewing their progress on a large map.

"M'lord, I present thine enemy," Helluin said as she held steady the vision.

"I feel as if I could reach out and take his head," Eldacar ground out.

And then she slowly centered their sight upon the map.

"Behold, the campaign for Osgiliath."

Again, Helluin held steady the vision, and the three committed what they saw to memory. T'would seem a force has been o'erlooked in our calculations aforetime, Helluin thought as she marked a notation on the map. Then she returned the stone's focus to Castamir, bringing them to see close, as though they stood at his side, and Helluin bent her thought hard upon him.

'Neath their scrutiny the traitor shifted his eyes as if he searched for something, and a sheen of sweat grew upon his face. Quicker and shallower came his breath, and finally he turned his head this way and that, as if he sought for 'aught that he could not see.

In the Chamber of the Palantír Helluin's eyes projected crackling blue fire as she intensified her assault, and marking this, the king and the prince gave her a questioning look. But she said 'naught, concentrating all her will upon the subject in the stone. Into his mind came a thought, and with that thought was a presence abhorrent that pressed upon his skull and beat upon his spirit, and of that presence came a voice.

To one of strong will who would do my bidding shalt I give a Ring in token of my favor, asking only for thy service 'til thy time upon this earth is through. Great power I can bestow and many gifts, even as of old. What say thou, yea or nay?

In the tent one hundred miles south of Osgiliath, Castamir clamped his hands o'er his ears, shrieked in terror, and fell to his knees. Immediately, Helluin ceased her assault.

Turning to the king and the prince, Helluin said, "I have offered Castamir a choice to make in spirit, and perhaps with the realization of whose bidding he doth truly do, he shalt turn back. In his head he hath heard a voice offering him a Ring in trade for his service. 'Twas such an offer as was once made to Tindomul and eight others long ago, yet now there art no Rings to bestow, for those art already held…by the Úlairi." After a pause, she added, "with thy grace I shalt assail him thus at each evening's camp."

Awe and horror showed upon the faces of King Eldacar and Prince Ornendil. Helluin had used the Seeing Stone not only to view, but to attack, and she had impersonated none other than Sauron Gorthaur to do so…convincingly, judging by the reaction of the traitor. And now finally, some inkling of the fear behind the darker rumors of the palantíri rang true for them. Eventually they would come to understand the dread that had haunted Isildur long ago, the terror of his people, and the absolute necessity of ne'er allowing such a stone to come to the hand of their greater enemy in the east.

Now following her assault upon Castamir, Helluin turned to examine 'aught that she had gleaned from the map. From the South Road to Anduin she moved their sight, and higher, so that soon they looked down upon the further bank, and they passed Pelargir and saw the ships of Umbar birthed at the quays. Thence downstream she continued, passing the mouth of the River Poros and Ethir Anduin, following the coast of Harondor, southwards to the city of their enemy, the great fortress and haven of Umbar at the head of its sheltering bay. Very strong indeed had that fastness become in the years of Hyarmendacil's war, and yet more had been built since. And they saw that many ships still lay at anchor in the harbor, whilst about the walls of the city stood pitched the tents of many troops.

"A strong force awaits some command," Helluin reported to the king, "and in this I see Castamir's confidence, for he deems sufficient such strength as he hath already brought, to win thy city and claim thy realm."

Beside her, Eldacar gritted his teeth and clenched tight his fists.

From Umbar, Helluin directed their view inland and northward to the road coming out of the Haradwaith. This she followed as it crossed the River Harnen and wound through Harondor, and then, spying a settling haze of dust in the distance ahead, decreased their altitude so as to come upon an encampment some fifty leagues south of the River Poros. This she circled once for to gage its size.

"'Tis a force in size alike to that already upon the road from Pelargir," she said, whilst commanding their eye point to float amongst a group of finer tents at the center.

"Thither fly the pennants of many noble houses of Umbar," hissed the king, "traitors all. May they rot in Udûn."

From the encampment, Helluin directed the palantír north upon the road, through Harondor to its ford upon the River Poros, which ran shallow 'twixt raised banks, and thence into South Ithilien with the jagged peaks of the Ephel Dúath marching e'er closer upon their right, continuing past Emyn Arnen and the crossroads to Osgiliath and Isildur's Tower of the Moon, and finding the lands thither clean of enemies. On she continued, as the road traversed the fair lands of Ithilien, 'til it finally turned east, passing thence the NoMan-lands and slag mounds, and skirting Dagorlad ere it found its end at the ruins of the Black Gate of Mordor. Thither, beyond the broken ground and tumbled blocks of the fallen Morannon, lay a broad circular valley, its sheer encircling slopes a forbidding wall, black and glassy…the accused ring-dike of Udûn. Eldacar and Ornendil shuddered at the sight of it.

"A dozen days march at least ere the enemy in Harondor reaches Osgiliath, m'lords," Helluin reported. That being 24 Nórui or thereabouts. I have still one other need to view.

In the palantír the vision lurched, sickening in its acceleration as the landscape jerked into a blur of motion. The king and the prince looked away, the latter with a groan. West Helluin commanded the Seeing Stone, 'cross Anduin to the road 'nigh Minas Anor, and thence south to the crossing of Erui and beyond, the viewpoint swinging side to side for some minutes, searching the darkening land, and thither at last she espied two upon horseback, riding southwest in haste. These she followed a moment, marking their direction and discerning their destination.

So, some errand calls thee to Linhir, beloved. 'Tis well that thou art riding away from the fighting and towards the stronghold of our allies. Still I worry for thee, but now at last I can rest with a bit more ease, knowing thou art safe.

"'Tis that…?"

"Aye, O King," Helluin said. "Beinvír rides to Linhir in the company of a Ranger."

Another swift move and at Linhir they watched many Rangers, cloaked and hooded, bearing bow, sword, and dagger, mustering in haste. Upon roads leading east to Anduin they saw companies already riding to war.

"Lebennin comes, O King, faithful allies to thy service."

And finally Helluin stepped back a pace and freed the palantír of her control. At once it went dark. With all they had seen for distraction, 'twas long ere the king or the prince marked that she had retained command of the stone for 'nigh on a half-hour unbroken, showing neither stress nor weariness after.

Now King Eldacar resolved to learn the mastery of the Seeing Stones, for their powers had been demonstrated to him clearly, yet knowing t'would be long ere he gained such expertise, he told Helluin, "my leave thou hast to use the palantíri of the South Kingdom henceforth, and I pray thee continue thine assault upon the traitor. Drive him and break him if thou can'st…o'erthrow his mind if needs be, for rather woulds't I face a gibbering madman than one crafty and wise who holds such advantage in numbers upon the field."

Helluin nodded in assent to the king's desire for it ran with her own, and she offered him a small grin of anticipation that chilled his blood.

To Be Continued