In An Age Before – Part 124
Chapter Eighty-five
The King's Exile, Rhovanion – The Third Age of the Sun
Now as has been told elsewhere in the histories of the South Kingdom, Osgiliath did indeed fall to the forces of the Lord-Captain Castamir in T.A. 1437. It hath also been told that much of the city was burnt in the attack, though 'twas not originally Castamir's intent, for the city center was home to the nobles, amongst whom were his staunchest supporters. Yet still, such indeed came to pass as a consequence of war. When the city was o'errun, panic gripped the populace and confusion reigned. Well 'nigh every quarter of Osgiliath was filled with fighting after the fall of its gate so that none sought to control those fires started during the artillery bombardment 'til 'twas far too late.
With prudence the remaining civilian populace had been urged to flee once the wall was breached, and a great count of those who had not already left ere the assault now made their way in haste to the east bank of Anduin. Of the vanquished defenders, many fled to Ithilien, giving way before the invaders, and amongst these were the deposed King Eldacar, his second son, Prince Aldamir, the prince's heir Vinyarion, Captain-General Borgil, Celegúr of Lossarnach, the faithful Northmen Anræd and Hæleþ, Captain Beleg of the City Guard, and Helluin. Upon the east bank of Anduin they met Beinvír bearing the Palantír of Minas Anor, and Thavron of Emyn Arnen, returning from Minas Ithil with its Seeing Stone. Thither upon the road they awaited Prince Ornendil and his small company, to whom the retrieval of the Master Stone of the South Kingdom had been entrusted, yet he came not and each passing moment increased their fear for his fate.
Finally, just ere they broke the bridge from the city center to forestall pursuit, a ragged Man was seen fleeing towards them from the flaming royal precinct, and the sharp eyes of the two ellith marked him and they stayed the destruction of the bridge 'til he came 'nigh. Battered and panting, soot blackened and sweating, he came to a halt before them and fought to recover his breath. 'Twas none other than Boromir the Hunter, exhausted from the fighting and his flight. Then, after a draught of water, he told his tale of woe, addressing the king in posture of shame.
"My lord, 'tis tidings most dire that I have the dishonor to bear. After I left thee, I accompanied the prince for to aid him in securing the Stone of Sorcery. Very heavy it proved to be, far more than its appearance told, and we struggled to carry it off, yet alas, encumbered thus we were too slow to make good our escape. Soldiers of Umbar came upon us and they would have stayed us. The prince and his guard turned to buy time, and they fought the attackers as we retreated. We had well 'nigh won free of the Dome of Stars when, weakened by the flames, a portion of the roof collapsed, separating us from him and breaking the road 'neath us. All lost their footing and fell from the violence of the crashing stones. Indeed some were crushed in the rubble, and, my lord, the Seeing Stone fell into the waters of Anduin. Alas, 'tis fore'er lost.
Thereafter those of us who still lived took flight, and some died from yet more falling stones as other buildings collapsed 'round us. Two others died fighting the enemy, for they had swarmed into the city center. By 'naught but chance I alone survived, as if the Valar spared my life to bring hence these tidings.
My lord, I know not whether the prince still lives or no. When last I saw him he was matching swords with Castamir's soldiers just ere the corridor to the exit caved in, burying with rubble the space 'twixt he and me. I am sorry, my lord, for my errand has failed utterly."
Having heard Boromir's rede, the king stood still as stone, as one stricken deep in shock, whilst the hunter covered his face with his hands and wept. In his king's stead, Captain-General Borgil gave the order to cast down the bridge leading from the city center. Then for a time all stood upon the east bank of Anduin watching their city burn, in silent mourning for the loss of so many comrades and loved ones, and for so much valiant effort that had come to 'naught in the end.
'Twas a somber column that made their way north through Ithilien, defeated soldiers of the Northern Army, survivors of the City Guards of Osgiliath and Minas Ithil, Rangers, Northmen, and many refugees of Gondor. Yet at their head, heartbroken and in grave doubt, went Eldacar son of Valacar, with Helluin and Beinvír and Prince Aldamir.
Upon the third day of their flight a Ranger galloped up from the rearguard which covered the retreat, and his tidings brought the king to tears, for 'twas reported that his heir, Prince Ornendil, wounded in his fight against the usurper's troops in the Dome of Stars, had been made prisoner by Castamir. Then, rather than being honored as a defeated foe, he was subjected to torture and executed before the people as a prelude to Castamir's coronation. All accounts agreed that the Lord-Captain was fey, and if his temperament had been dark aforetime, 'twas now a madness of cruelty that ruled him. Along with the prince, every captured soldier in Osgiliath had been summarily executed and their bodies flung into Anduin. And the garrison of Minas Anor, granted the victor's mercy, had been spared death and consigned to slave labor after the surrender of their city, tasked with repairing the fortifications damaged during the war.
In the wake of these tidings, Helluin's mood turned black with self-recrimination, and to her beloved she confessed silently eye to eye, the blame for Castamir's mood I lay squarely at my own feet. How else could he behave after enduring five years of nightly torment at my hand? Through my machinations I have transformed an ambitious Man into an imitation of the Dark Lord himself, and so I have brought to Gondor the cruelty of a Sauron of their own. As my actions aforetime cost Thranduil his adar, so now I have cost Eldacar his réd¹. ¹(réd, son Sindarin)
The Green Elf was not surprised by her beloved's self-condemnation, and indeed she could see some truth in Helluin's words, yet the Noldo's strategy and its outcome had not been hers alone. In war none may know aforetime with certainty the outcome of their actions, for much cannot be foreseen. Thy actions were undertaken with good purpose and with the king's knowledge and blessing. Rightly thou may bear the blame for influencing Castamir's mood, yet undermining his capacity to command was a sound strategy. Though great sorrow has come of thy campaign against Castamir, still his decisions and conduct art his own. Ornendil's blood lies not upon thy hands, meldanya.
Despite her reassurances, the Green Elf could see that Helluin still blamed herself, just as she still blames herself for the fall of Oropher, she thought, and yet Thranduil blames her not. I do not believe that Eldacar blames her either. Alas, 'tis more difficult for her to absolve herself.
Now though 'twas unknown to King Eldacar, or to any other marching north upon that day, the earlier reports of Osgiliath reflected the shock and horror of the city, and though Castamir's cruelty was without question, still some exaggeration influenced the details. Prince Ornendil was executed indeed, beheaded personally by Castamir's lieutenant, the Lord Gwing¹ of Umbar, and many others captured with him met the same fate, but not all. A large count of loyal soldiers escaped the aftermath of the fall of Osgiliath, and with the aid of the Rangers, made their way in secret to Lebennin in the south, or to Anórien in the north. Thither they took up quiet lives, nurturing in silence their hopes for the eventual o'erthrow of the Usurper and the return of the king. Others had not been executed, but rather served a probation at hard labor for their parts in the city's defense, ere being reassigned to less influential posts within the army. ¹(Gwing, Wavecrest Sindarin)
Had Castamir the manpower and the foresight in those days, he would have pursued the fleeing king and his forces to their doom, for their way upon the east bank of Anduin and their passage north to Rhovanion was hard and took many months. Yet the Captain Admiral had much to order in the wreck of Osgiliath ere he consolidated and secured his position as king, and these things occupied him wholly. Atop such considerations, he commanded but few in Ithilien. The lands east of Anduin and north of Poros he had ne'er occupied, nor embarked any force thither ere the fall of the city, and so he had none available for pursuit. Thus, whilst he inaugurated his reign, the seeds of his eventual downfall escaped his grasp.
A full four months of toil it took the king's company to reach his kin in Rhovanion, for 'twas not 'til mid-Narbeleth that he came to the city of his mother's people, whither his maternal grand cousin now ruled the Northmen. Others in his following lagged behind, and so Eldacar's people did not finish arriving for yet another month, 'til mid-Hithui, with frost upon the tall, dried grass in the mornings, and a chill wind out of the Ered Mithrin blowing down from the north. Much hardship did the common folk of Gondor endure along that way, and Helluin was reminded of the flight from another realm fallen to invaders long, long ago…two Ages of the world aforetime, she had aided the flight of the refugees of Gondolin.
Long the years have grown indeed since those days, yet again I safeguard a son of Tuor and Idril. But Eldacar is a scion of the lines of Thingol and Melian as well, and being a son of the line of Elendil, my own blood flows in his veins. Even should he now hate and detest me, still, so long as he lives, I shalt labor to see him King of Gondor again.
Now as much lore has told, the king's exile lasted for ten years…twice the count of days as did the defense of Osgiliath. And ten years too is the tale of the reign of the twenty-second King of Gondor; Castamir the Usurper. That reign was marked by the swiftest disaffection of the people for their king in all the history of the Númenórean Realms in Exile, for Castamir revealed himself to be cruel, petty, vindictive, and little concerned for the welfare of his subjects. Ere the first year of his kingship had passed, the common folk resented his disregard, and within three years of his ascension, even the nobles of Osgiliath who had supported him felt disenchantment and regret. Yet Castamir still commanded the loyalty of the nobles of Umbar and the troops who had won the city for him, and so none dared any acts of open defiance, for dissention was met with the censure of martial law.
In those days the King's Justice was applied with capriciousness and prejudice by cadres of appointed local judges, for every despot can find some willing to abet his power for the sake of their own prestige. At court the former Lord-Captain, now self-promoted to Captain-Admiral, (a title which Castamir chose to associate himself with those officers of Númenor who had commanded the king's ships), surrounded himself with sycophants upon whom he relied not a wit for counsel in civic matters. Thus he ruled according to his own wisdom alone, and that had long been darkened by a taunting and demeaning presence.
Thus the plight of the people of Gondor worsened with each passing year, and though delayed by some months, word of all that came to pass in the city reached Eldacar's ears in Rhovanion. With each report, the wrongs visited upon his people by Castamir galvanized the deposed king's resolve to win back his father's throne. Indeed the impact of each messenger's words struck at his spirit like a slave driver's goad. Yet worse than these second hand reports were the first hand viewings, for north with Eldacar had come the Seeing Stones, and 'neath Helluin's tutelage, the king's prowess at commanding the palantíri grew to proficiency. And whereas aforetime their curse had driven the Usurper 'nigh madness, now 'twas the deposed king who suffered from their use as he stared, day after day, upon the ruin of his kingdom with growing heartbreak and frustration.
Yet in truth, Eldacar was far from helpless. At his behest the troops who had followed him north maintained their discipline as a military force, drilling and training, and hoping for the day when they would march south to liberate their home. In the hearts of every Soldier of Gondor and Ranger of Lebennin lived the resolve to fight again for their king and their lands. And as the years passed, soldier and Ranger shared each with the other their craft and their ways of war, and both bettered their horsemanship 'neath the tutelage of the Northmen.
The honing of martial skills occupied not only the soldiery alone, for the king and Prince Aldamir too attended to the enhancement of their swordsmanship 'neath the instruction of one of Middle Earth's greatest living warriors. And so, as had the Lord Thranduil aforetime, Eldacar son of Valacar endeavored to learn 'aught of swordplay from a Golodh. Like King Thranduil, the instruction of the deposed king and prince lasted many years, indeed third only in duration to that gifted to Prince Thranduil ere the War of the Last Alliance, and of course to her soulmate; long millennia of training that no mortal could hope to approach.
Now in the summer of the year 1445, Eldacar took counsel with his kinsman King Vindaria, he being the grandson of Vidumavi's brother, for the life spans of the Northmen were less than the life spans of the Dúnedain. Whereas two sons had followed Minalcar to rule in Gondor, four had ruled after Vidugavia in Rhovanion. Eldacar-Vinitharya was now in his one hundred and ninetieth year of life; older than any two kings of Rhovanion added together. Vindaria was in his thirty-second year of life, his sixth as king, and he was in awe of his great-grandaunt Vidumavi's son, who appeared to his eyes no more than a vigorous fifty-five.
"Kinsman, 'tis yet another debt Gondor now owes thy realm," Eldacar said, "for thy succor of my people and thy folk's hospitality. I know the strain that hosting so many places upon thy kingdom's crops, game, living space, and even fresh water. And unlike my sire and grandsire, I cannot even promise thee the alliance of Gondor, for 'tis no longer my realm to command."
"Kinsman, the oaths we swore in the days of King Rómendacil stand still 'twixt our peoples, yet more than this, in thy veins runs the blood of Vidumavi as much as Valacar. We turn not our backs upon our own in their need. Honor demands it."
The deposed King of Gondor dipped his head in thanks. These things he knew well. The customs of the Northmen were writ deep in his own heart from the years of his youth in the north.
"Still, thou hast my thanks, cousin. 'Tis my hope that soon enough my folk shalt march south to wrest Gondor from the cruel usurper who squats upon my father's throne. Each day renews my knowledge of my peoples' suffering, and such has grown intolerable. I owe them more. The honor of all the Kings of Gondor since Isildur and Anárion demands it."
For some moments silence reigned. 'Tis some 1,465 years since those days, and in all that time but 22 lords have ruled the South Kingdom of the Dúnedain, Vindaria thought. T'will be better by far if kin rule thither, for this Castamir shalt not so esteem my people.
"When wilt thou open thy campaign?" Vindaria asked.
"T'will be still 'nigh on another year, I reckon," Eldacar answered, his dissatisfaction clear. "I await the return of two who have ventured into the east seeking allies of their own."
"Into the east…?"
'Tis 'naught but Easterling raiders and worse in those lands, fire worshippers and cannibals, or so we have heard tell, Vindaria thought.
Vinitharya made no answer, but he sent a silent prayer to the Valar that Helluin and Beinvír would find those they sought.
Realizing that no answer was forthcoming, Vindaria said, "very well then, kinsman. When thou go south to war, a full hors earm shalt accompany thee."
"Kinsman, thou hast my sincerest thanks," Eldacar said softly after a moment's pause.
In those days, long ere the éored of the Rohirrim, a hors earm, or cavalry army, was typically manned by two thousand knights plus their support personnel…five to six hundreds of squires and grooms, harness makers and armorers, bowyers and fletchers, cooks and butchers, blacksmiths and ferriers, wagon masters and carpenters, most of whom could be called upon to serve as supporting infantry. Vindaria's kingdom counted four such as the backbone of their standing army.
"Vinitharya, I mark those who have come north in flight from Gondor to rejoin thee. A few more each passing week has brought hither. Thy cause is just, and when thou come thither thy people shalt rise in rebellion; harken to me. They shalt rally 'neath thy banners ere e'er thou come to Osgiliath."
To this, Eldacar nodded in agreement. I see them too, these ragged, hurting, once-proud folk, and for each three who arrive, one lies buried along the way, for the labor of that journey is hard. Yet I see too what thou cannot, for through the palantíri I have seen what drives them hence. My heart bleeds for my people. If I could, I would march upon the morrow.
The summer of 1445 fled as the months of Nórui, Cerveth, and Urui passed. Ivanneth came and then Narbeleth with the harvest, and the cold months of Hithui, Girithron, Narwain, and Nínui followed as the year 1446 opened. Eldacar waited, hating each day's delay. The armies continued to train and drill as strategies were laid.
Upon 2 Narwain, 1446, that being the first day following Yestarë, (New Year's Day), the Lord Eldacar learned of Castamir's intent to remove the throne of Gondor from the rebuilt Dome of Stars in Osgiliath to Pelargir. 'Twas the Usurper's first decision when his court had reconvened in the new year, and though the announcement was made behind closed doors, no doors could exclude Eldacar's sight through the palantíri. It left the deposed king seething. Had he been present, he would have wrung Castamir's neck with his bare hands.
Upon 17 Gwaeron, (March 17th), Eldacar surveyed his realm through the Anor Stone, and his glance chanced upon the road that wound from the site of the long fallen Morannon, south through Ithilien. Thither he espied a mounted company riding hard towards Minas Ithil. Their count he made some ten dozens, led by a rider bearing a standard furled and bound upon a staff, and a pair who rode double. As if sensing his attention, the taller of the pair raised her head and sought for the cause, then cast a quick glance at the sky to mark the sun. All were cloaked in the mixed greens he had come to recognize as the garb of his friends, and all bore bow and quiver, sword and dagger, as did the Rangers of Lebennin.
So, t'would seem they have succeeded in their quest, he thought. Would that I could hold converse with them and learn their purpose. Alas, they have no Stone with which to answer.
At his accustomed time in the eve of 18 Gwaeron the king sat alone, preparing to view his realm as he was wont to do, when, wholly unbidden, the Palantír of Minas Anor flared to life before him. The king started and felt the hard thudding of his heart within his breast, for if one such as Helluin could assail Castamir through the Seeing Stones, whosoe'er might have commanded thus his Stone to life from afar? His first thought and fear was Sauron!
Too oft and too close have I examined the lands 'nigh Mordor!
To his horror, the king found he could neither force closed the contact, nor withdraw his attention, for thither was his whole being constrained. A blinding ril of sapphire eclipsed all else within the Stone and a will far stronger than his own held him thrall.
In a heartbeat, the point of view expanded. Sapphire blazed from a single eye that resolved into Helluin's face, her features grim with the effort to initiate and maintain the contested contact o'er so great a distance.
"My lord, cease thy resistance, I pray thee. I have but moments, yet our errand was successful. I felt thy sight upon us yestereve and resolved to contact thee a bit earlier this day. We ride for Osgiliath and thence to the Ranger stronghold in Linhir. Thereafter we shalt make for Pinnath Galen ere crossing north into Calenardhon. If fortune favors us, we shalt subvert Angrenost and contact thee through its Stone. Our purpose is to lay such groundwork as can be ere thy invasion. We reckon t'will take the best part of two seasons."
In the next moment, the Stone went black.
At the crossroads in Ithilien whither the ways leading to Ithilduin and Osgiliath parted, Helluin groaned and let her head fall slack, chin upon chest. A concerned Beinvír moved to massage her neck with skilled fingers.
"T'would seem thy gambit has proved successful, impetuous as 'twas, meldis nín," the leader said with a wry grin. Indeed little about her truly surprised him anymore.
"'Twas good fortune Eldacar chose to use the Anor Stone, with which I have become especially attuned after the years of assailing Castamir," Helluin ground out. "By the Valar he put up a fight! I wanted greatly to smack him, rightful king though he be."
"Thought himself assailed by Sauron at first, I wager," the Green Elf chuckled.
That brought a round of smiles to those standing 'nigh and a grim grin to Helluin.
"That vision too I could have gifted him…maybe next time."
Far away in Rhovanion the king recalled the advice Helluin had offered at his first attempt to use the Osgiliath Stone. 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 shows. 'Twas o'er 200 leagues 'twixt Ithilien and his room in the north, and she had not only initiated the contact, but retained it against his initial opposition and then constrained him. More than e'er he understood the mixed blessing of the palantíri. What if it actually had been Sauron, or even one of his Úlairi? A shiver tracked up his spine, and for the first time in many, many days, he chose to shroud the Stone and forgo his daily viewing.
To Be Continued