Chapter 13: Warrior's soul, warrior's will…
It seemed as if chaos had descended upon every shore and bay, ships arrived everywhere, carrying warriors and horses and among them came the valar and the maiar and CeKay felt an odd twinge of disgust when seeing them. Oh they were powerful indeed, she could feel it, like a pulse in the air, a distant thunderstorm slowly approaching, but that power was not what she would have expected at all. They had waited, let time slip by while the world suffered and why? She saw them all and within her a glow of rage started to awaken, it had all been their fault, all the death and the suffering and she wondered if she really was right to do naught.
She walked among them, these newcomers and discovered that these elves viewed their kin with a sort of negativity she found loathsome. She couldn't comprehend why they believed themselves to be so much better, so more worthy and she was shocked by their innocence. To them this war was something they believed would be easy, a quick battle against an enemy who surely would cower before the might of the valar. The truth was entirely different, so much darker than these born in the light of Aman ever could comprehend. She saw it in the first battles, how the sights and sounds and the sheer brutality of it left many deeply stunned and shocked. But the elves who had lived there all their lives, who had bled and suffered and seen what the enemy truly was couldn't be frightened off. They marched towards the danger with their heads held high and CeKay felt a sort of pride watching them. The valar would attack the very core of the enemy's domain, and bring him to his knees at all costs and she soon saw their strength.
But the enemy was strong too and ruthless and terrible and his orcs and monsters many, the death toll was great. CeKay wasn't shocked by anything anymore, she had seen it all before but now the cruelty and evil of the dark lord seemed to break free from whatever restraints it had lain under and she sensed it, his desperation. It was like a wounded beast, hidden in its cave, surrounded by ravenous hunters and yet unwilling to give up. She was fighting, disguised as an elf and she felt a sort of desperation which grew with each day. Too many lives were lost, they didn't seem to care for their strategies were not very efficient at all. The great fortress would never fall unless the fight was taken to a whole new level. Every day new monstrosities were brought forth and every day the armies of the elves and valar had to face new horrors for which nobody could really truly be prepared.
CeKay learned to regard these so called deities with suspicion, oh they did hold great strength and magic but they were not omnipotent and made mistakes. She suspected that the very nature of Melkor was so alien to them they simply were unable to comprehend his true intentions. These beings had never truly been alive, their forms something they had chosen and they had never hungered or suffered. They were like children but children with immense powers at their command. And their reactions to facing resistance was pretty much equal to that of a spoiled child who suddenly isn't being pampered anymore, the tactics were awful and CeKay started to seriously doubt that anything would come from this at all.
She had been hiding for centuries, living like an ordinary elf but now she felt that she no longer had a choice, she had to do something to change the odds and so she left the camps and started to hunt on her own. For what she did was hunting, she went for the officers, for the strongest of the orcs and trolls and tried as best as she could to cause a loss of moral and inflict fear in their hearts. She fought in stealth mode, didn't let herself be seen and she killed hundreds each night but it was just like scratching the surface, it didn't really add up to anything at all. Her frustration grew, of course she knew of weapons powerful enough to eradicate the entire fortress, strong enough to kill every orc there was but this was a world where such deviltry had been unknown and she also knew that the effects of such weapons could be felt for ages afterwards. No, this had to be done the conventional way and she just wished that the so called leaders could get their heads out of their asses and see that their so called strategies only meant a death toll which was way too high.
It didn't seem as if these valar cared at all if a hundred elves had to die just so they could kill one balrog or a handful of orcs, and she knew that even a novice at the military academies of her old existence could have made better plans. She tried to influence the elven leaders by seeping information to everyone, giving small hints at what action would hurt the dark lord the most but often it was ignored and she couldn't just step forth and demand to be listened to. She had no idea of what the valar would do if they became aware of her presence.
Then she was discovered and it was a shock since she had been so sure of herself and her own skills. She had been convinced that nobody had been able to detect her and notice her presence there but she was wrong. She was approached early one morning as she sat beside her tent and polished a sword, in the daytime she fought with the elves and did the best she could without revealing her superior nature. The one approaching her was no elf, and no vala. It was one of the lesser beings known as maiar and she sensed him long before he came into view. He wore a shining armour and carried his sword with a sort of haughty elegance and Ceay sensed both arrogance and curiosity within him. There were scores of maiar following the valar, some were made to be officers while others just followed as soldiers and this was one of them. She had noticed him before, a very beautiful one with long silvery hair and the emblem of the one named Manwë on his chestplate. She wondered why such beings needed armour at all but they all wore some and they did fight well, some did in fact fight with a sort of ferocity which told her they had personal reasons to hate the beasts the enemy brought forth.
He stopped in front of her, the shiny silvery eyes were narrow and he stared, head cocked and expression one of slight confusion. "I have seen you fight, and you are no elf, but you are none of us neither. "
CeKay made a grimace. "What makes you say that?"
He bent down. "You have a different…feel…than anyone else I have encountered. I saw you sneak out of the camp last night, and I saw a trail of death left behind. You killed more than a hundred orcs, nobody does that who aren't something more than flesh and blood"
Cekay sighed, this was a smart one, great. Not just a pretty face then. "I am what I am, I am on the side of good, that ought to be enough"
He crouched down, now she saw the dents in the armour and the small speckles of black blood he probably hadn't had time to remove. He did look tired, almost worn. "Forgive me, but I am curious and I don't trust anyone who can fight like that and still hides in the shadows. I am Marhal, I serve under Eonwë. "
CeKay rolled her eyes with a groan. "I am CeKay, just that. I serve none"
He tilted his head the other way. "CeKay, a most unusual name I must admit. And you are?"
She took a deep breath. "Not off this world, that ought to be pretty obvious"
He did look a bit shocked. "No, but it makes sense. There are other worlds, Eru has taught us that. Other universes even. Are you…are you akin to the valar then?"
CeKay shook her head. "No, they claim to be deities, I am not. I was made, I am artificial, like a machine but one with a mind and a will of my own. I was made to be a soldier, that is why I fight so well"
He fell silent, then a hand was raised, every so carefully and he poked her shoulder, as if to check if she was real. "I do not understand"
She let out a sigh. "No, it would be a miracle if you did but I can tell you that I am very powerful, and very wise. I have much knowledge and I know that the war you are fighting will go on forever unless your masters gets the sticks out of their asses and start thinking strategy, that is, another strategy than full head on attack at all times. Too many dies now, it is a waste."
He did look surprised again. "You are right, and we do know this but our lords, they do believe that the mere sight of their might will make the dark one bow before them in submission"
Cekay had to choke a rather cruel laughter. "Submission?! That one doesn't know the meaning of that word, and he does have scores upon scores of orcs and monsters at his service, ready to die for him. You can keep fighting until there is nobody left alive here on this continent and yet he will not run out of servants. Nor malice!"
Marhal nodded slowly. "You are right, his power is too great. What would you do to stop this?"
CeKay stared at the maia with some surprise in her gaze. "You are asking me for advice?"
He nodded. "Yes, for I sense that you are sincere. The others aren't, they try to gain power on their own behalf or they try to come up with excuses so they won't have to fight or they simply ignore orders and do what they themselves find useful, which is usually very little. "
CeKay swallowed. "If I was your masters I would seek a way to lower the loss of lives, I have tried to ruin the moral of the enemy but they are too many"
Marhal nodded. "Yes, or bring the enemy down from within"
CeKay stared at him, he was right. She had forgotten who and what she was, what she was capable of. At this moment in time it didn't matter anymore, she would have to use her powers for the sake of the greater good. If these valar did see her for what she was then be it, she couldn't hide anymore, not without bearing the guilt of not having saved so many. "You are right, from within! And I know just how to do this, but it will be very dangerous"
Marhal frowned. "You do?"
She nodded. "Yes, once upon a time, so long ago your world didn't even exist yet there was a mighty empire which sought to control and conquer all other realms of their galaxy. And they would have done it too, if there hadn't been one fatal mistake"
He blinked, his expression one of fascination. "You do own great wisdom, what sort of mistake?"
CeKay could almost see it before her inner eyes, the fatal landing on an yet unexplored planet. "They were too greedy, wanted too much too fast and broke some rather important rules. A ship of theirs landed on a world where they expected to find great treasures, but what they found was death. They just didn't know that until it was too late."
He did wet his lips. "Death?"
She nodded. "Yes, they were wise, and extremely advanced but even the wisest of beings cannot fathom more than a small portion of the entire truth. There will always be the unknown, the unexpected. They found gems on that planet, wonderful shiny gems and they were soon very sought after and they examined them and found nothing dangerous at all. So the gems were distributed far and wide and nobody expected anything to happen"
Marhal did cock his head. "They were dangerous in some unknown manner?"
She nodded. "Exactly! They did spread a sort of invisible poison, a disease. When they were on the planet they had been found on they were harmless but other suns did strange things to them and they were in fact alive, and tried to protect themselves thus. And so billions died and the empire crumbled and fell, all because of greed"
Marhal nodded. "So what will you do?"
CeKay sighed. "I will go to Angband, and get inside and there I will sow the seeds of destruction. "
Marhal frowned yet again. "I do not understand?"
She made a sort of smile. "I can do that, I can…create things with my mind, and use it to destroy"
Marhal did look a bit pale. "Then you are a God, even if you deny it"
She shook her head. "No, I am no deity and this is the last time I say this so listen, I am powerful but nothing supernatural. "
Marhal did suddenly look very determined. "I will go with you"
CeKay gaped. "You want to do WHAT?"
He stared her straight in the eye. "You heard me, when you go to Angband I want to join you, I need…I need to see it, see how bad it is. The tales we have heard, the valar laugh and claim it cannot be that bad, that their brother surely cannot be that twisted"
CeKay sighed and felt tired all of a sudden. "Oh but he is, the horrors of that fortress cannot even be described with the words of any tongue. You will regret it"
Marhal was adamant, she saw it in his gaze and she knew that even a maia was way more powerful than an elf, maybe there was a way… She made a grimace. "Right, then you need to gather more warriors, creatures like yourself. We need a small group, no fewer than three but no more than five. "
He tilted his head. "I have friends, loyal to me and the cause, friends who will ask no questions"
She smiled. "Good, we have to get in there wearing a disguise, trying to sneak inside will be too difficult. His power is too great. Hiding in broad daylight is our only chance. "
Marhal got up. "When?"
She shrugged. "Why hesitate? Tomorrow may be too late so tonight, as soon as the sun sets. I want everybody armed and ready and you have to be aware of the danger. If he manages to catch you alive…"
Marhal looked down, his eyes dark. "Yes, I know. I have seen what they do to prisoners, even…even those of my kind."
CeKay sent him a smile. "Go, and find your friends. Meet me by the groove outside of the camp, I need to make plans"
He bowed and left and CeKay remained sitting there with the sword in her lap, staring at it. She was making the right decision, and damned be the future if she couldn't do what she could to make a difference. What if she did change the destiny of this realm? It was worth it if this war could be brought to an end, it had lasted way too long already. She often compared Morgoth and the valar with angry dogs barking and snapping at each other but none daring to really move in for the bite. Well, she would force them forth, whatever the cost may be.
She rested and went through her memory banks, brought forth all she had learned about the fortress so many centuries ago. It had to have changed since then for it had in fact grown but she wasn't going to be shocked by anything she saw in there anymore. She checked every system and made sure that she was ready for anything, her energy core at top level and her combat program rebooted. There would be no glitches now, only the goal mattered and she did smile.
She had been a fool to wait this long, she could have done this so long ago and perhaps saved thousands of lives but she supposed that her initial programming still haunted her brain like a ghost. The first commandment of the inter galactic council had been set in diamonds, do not interfere with the development of primitive civilizations. She knew so many examples of that one rule being broken and in all the cases the result was a horrible mess. The minds of the lesser developed races couldn't cope with the knowledge they had been given, and the visitors were seen as Gods and then things went south with express speed. Religions and superstitions and rules and the worship of hollow ideals commenced and entire planets had been left as barren wastelands because of this.
But she had no choice this time, the valar, they were…She didn't really have a word for them but they were not off this world and they had already intervened, she was just trying to gather up their mess, fix the wrongs they had done. They had brought their own petty differences onto this young planet and now its inhabitants were paying the price and she was feeling how anger burned within her at the very thought. If these beings indeed came here wanting to be worshipped as Gods then they had done a great crime and this war was just the ultimate result of this. They were using the elves and some of the maiar too as pawns and tools and CeKay had never endured injustice.
She waited by the groove and when it got dark she did see that Marhal did come, as promised. He had three others with him, maiar clad in green and blue and all were tall and inhumanly pretty and they wore their blades on their backs. They bowed before her and she saw that they were curious but also very determined. "We have come to help conquer the dark lord, our masters seems content to just send troops forth to their death with no effect whatsoever."
CeKay nodded. "Yes, now, this is how we do this. We will travel fast, and when we get closer we will disguise ourselves as orcs, that ought to get us inside undetected. There are so many creatures pouring forth from that fortress nobody can keep count of them, not even their own."
Marhal nodded. "Good, but we do not have the magic to weave such illusions"
CeKay smiled. "Worry not, I do. Come on, we have to get there before the sun rises"
They followed her and she used her energy to create a sort of bubble which allowed them to move at breakneck speed. After some hours they saw the gates in the distance and CeKay removed the camouflage and nodded at them. "Remember, from now on you are orcs, do not speak and let me do all the work until we are inside. If someone speaks to you just grunt, I will take care of it"
They nodded and she released nanites, thousands of them. They attached themselves to everybody's skin and hair and clothing and made them look like nasty orcs. The sight made them all chuckle and groan. "Eru, I look…horrible"
One of the maiar did look at his own reflection within his blade and CeKay giggled. "True beauty rests within, you all know that, now, let us go"
They all soon learned to move like orcs too, a sort of wobbling unsteady gait with none of the elegance of the elves and they leaned forth a bit and dragged their feet as if they were tired CeKay had put on the disguise of an orc captain and she had remembered the old symbols and the ways the orcs did identify their leaders. She did look like a captain from some smaller platoon and as the gate got closer she had to hiss and fight her own urge to just lash out. They were passed by all the time, by scores of orcs and were wolves and wargs. Trolls and other monsters did run along the paths and they all had that look within their eyes, sheer bloodlust and sheer madness. She just cussed in orcish and waddled forth, looking as brutish as she could. The gates were open all the time, troops moving inn and out the entire time and she was glad they weren't stopped. Nobody even looked at them and she sent her four companions a warning glance, they had to stay in character and not reveal their shock at anything they saw.
The courtyard was grand and filled with troops and CeKay ignored everything. She saw some orc sough carrying trays with a sort of cups upon it and she was distributing it to the officers and CeKay walked over as if it was her right and grasped one of the cups. It did contain some dark liquid and the orc sough sent CeKay a smile which was probably meant to be pleasing. "It is grog sire, it is very good"
CeKay just grunted and appeared to drain the cup in one go, the liquid was foul and strong but she did analyse its contents and it wasn't really dangerous. It was just smelly and nasty. She tossed the cup away and walked on and her soldiers did follow with their heads bent. She headed for one of the entrances when she did see something which made her cuss inside. Some of the orcs were tormenting some prisoners, forcing them to fight unarmed against some nasty looking goblins and she saw both elves and lesser maiar among them. The four tensed up and she smacked Marhal over his cheek rather brutally. "Oy, yer eyes here, no fun for ya yet!"
She dragged them along. "Reports first!"
Some other orcs there laughed and the four did follow her, she had made herself look larger and stronger than them and they entered the huge door and found the corridors and halls absolutely packed. But she did recognize the place and she soon found some stairs leading downstairs. She walked with confidence and power and after a while they were in the quarters where the slaves were kept. She remembered what she had done the last time she was there, and her nanites had done their job well. There were tunnels everywhere, hidden and not yet open but the layer of rock thin and you could break through rather easily. The four were aghast, their eyes told of shock and CeKay gathered them around her. "Listen, I will seal the entrance to this area, and open the tunnels I once made. You will bring as many as you can out of here, but be fast and don't hesitate. If some poor soul is too weak to move kill them, it is merciful."
The four did look deeply shocked but nodded and Marhal stared at her. "What will you do?"
CeKay grinned, a very vicious grin which did look even worse since she was in disguise still. "Find the kitchen, an army marches on its belly"
Marhal grinned and she removed the disguise, there were thousands of slaves down there, trapped in their cells since the fighting meant that they were not needed for the time being. She just hoped that the four would manage to get as many as possible out of there. She ran towards the entrance and sent off a swarm of nanites to eat away the bars and open the tunnels, then she brought down the entrance and nobody did notice since the entire fortress already was shaking with the eruptions of the huge volcano. The way to the kitchens was long, and winding and she was afraid that some of the beings she met could see through the disguise for many were maiar who had become seduced by the power of the dark one but nobody reacted and she entered the huge hall which was the room where the food was being prepared, or food. She wouldn't use the word and the gods alone knew what made it into the pots and pans.
She realized that dead orcs and slaves went onto the stew together with raw leather, dead wargs and whatever else the cooks deemed edible. The smell was unbelievable and she found a dark alcove and removed the disguise before she went into camouflage mode again. The pots were massive, the size of swimming pools heated by lava bubbling up from underneath them and huge trolls were stirring the food as the orc chefs were running around barking orders. They seemed to have some sort of pride in their work for they were whipping the slaves forth and if the stew from one pot wasn't to their liking the ones responsible for the seasoning became the seasoning. CeKay released nanites, and this time her task was hard, and extremely difficult. She had to work on a level which was unusual even for her, she had to change cells and their DNA.
There were germs in the pots and pans for they had never been washed and most of these one celled organisms were extremophiles, used to heat and an unfriendly environment. Now she forced them to become something new, and to breed like never before. It did take energy, lots of it and she was tired when she was done but after a few hours all the pots and pans were teeming with life, new life which would attack with vicious force.
She went back to the basements and checked the structure, it was weakened and she smiled, this fortress would crumble but it would take something massive to make it fall. Even she couldn't unleash an earthquake and she didn't want the dark lord to realize that something was there, working against him. She found her way to the halls where the wargs and werewolves were kept and she did release yet another swarm, this time it wouldn't kill but have a most devastating effects on these monsters. She was chuckling as she sought her way back to the slave quarters. She found a tunnel and just slid through the rock until she caught up with the last of the slaves. Most were elves and in a terrible state and she realized that the four maiar had done exactly what she had asked of them. They had killed those too severely wounded and now everybody were hurrying along the narrow tunnels. CeKay took the appearance of an elf again and helped carry the weak to safety. The tunnels all converged and ended in a rather secluded mountain valley some hours from the fortress and here there were no orcs since it was a desolate area nobody had any interest in.
The slaves were in shock, they hadn't expected to be saved and CeKay did feel sorry for them all. Most were scarred and maimed and some of the females were heavy with child. CeKay realized that these were breeding slaves and the very idea made her cringe. Soon the dark lords would notice that the slaves were gone and she returned to the tunnels and raced along them, shut them off at the other end and disguised the entrances so they couldn't be found. When she returned the four had managed to get an estimate of how many they were and CeKay was a bit stunned. They were several thousand and this valley didn't contain anything edible nor any shelter. They needed to get them out of there fast but how? CeKay couldn't camouflage that many, they would move too slowly. There was a limit even to her powers and even if she could make her nanites make edible substances from the minerals and organic material of the surroundings it wouldn't be enough. She had to think, and think hard.
Marhal cocked his head, his eyes were red and she knew he had been crying. "They are suffering, what those monsters have done…I have no words…"
CeKay sent him a rather sour glance. "Of course you haven't, but we do need to get them out of here, they need to get to safety, preferably to Sirion"
One of the other four shrugged. "How? Most cannot walk that far even if they weren't this weak and we will be pursued and attacked"
CeKay nodded. "Yes, you are right, so, any suggestions?"
They looked at each other. "A diversion?"
CeKay nodded. "Yes, good idea, what sort of diversion?"
The maiar did look a bit nervous. "Morgoth fears none, we all know that. But he has some flaws, his pride is one of them"
CeKay stared at Marhal. "You are right, his pride! And it was wounded once, I think I know what I will do now"
She grinned, it was a wonderful irony there somewhere. She took a deep breath "I will make sure that his eyes are looking elsewhere, there is something he both fear and longs for, and I will provide him with both"
The maiar did look puzzled. "There is?"
She nodded and started to prepare herself. "Yes, now, wait until the sun rises, his forces doesn't move in daylight. Move towards the front, it is just some hours away now and the elves will see you from afar and aid you. Whence you are behind the lines they will bring the slaves to safety. Tell everybody that…that a rogue maia helped you free the slaves"
Marhal nodded but he did look as if he was in doubt. "Alright, we can do that. But what exactly are you going to do?"
CeKay did look rather sinister, her eyes had gotten a very sharp expression and she seemed to grow. "Show him what he once lost!"
She called her steed to her, it had been waiting hidden in the hills and would come to her rather fast. She then sought through the very rock itself, burrowed down into it and she did find what she was after, a piece of flawless crystal. She pulled it up to the surface and reshaped it before she discretely changed its properties and now it was glowing with an unearthly light. Marhal was gaping. "Is that a silmaril?"
CeKay almost giggled. "No, but he will think it is one!"
She knew that the loss of the one silmaril Luthien had managed to snatch from him had hurt the dark lords pride like nothing else and he would be blinded by his greed if he did think he could reclaim it. The four did walk around and helped the injured and ill as best they could and CeKay recharged herself, she was feeling a sort of eager energy now. This could be fun!
Her steed did arrive and she changed it, now it did look exactly like the huge white stallion Fingolfin had ridden and CeKay did pet it and her grin became even more sinister. "Elves can be brought back from the dead, I bet Morgoth still feels the bite of Fingolfin's blade, his limp has never disappeared they say"
She remembered her friend of old and slowly she changed herself so she did look exactly like him, but she attached the "silmaril" to a sort of crown and her armour was shiny white. "Do you think he will believe that the valar has sent the high king back?"
Marhal did nod and his eyes were large. "He will be too shocked to think clearly"
CeKay did mount the white horse and her energy surged. This would take a lot out of her but she couldn't give inn to her slight doubt. She had to create enough of a diversion for the four to bring the slaves to safety. She turned the horse around and smiled at them all. "Go now, take them to the mouth of the valley and when the daylight comes run for it. You do not have much time. What I did back there will soon have its effect upon the troops but it will take some days to spread to everybody. Don't look back, just run"
Marhal did salute her and she let the copy of Rochallor run down the slopes in a cloud of dust. The real horse had run itself to death but this steed was no horse and could run forever if she wanted it too.
In the great fortress the atmosphere had been good for weeks now, almost jovial. They couldn't be broken by the puny valar, they were too strong and they would toss their entire army back into the sea and then they would rule Middle earth forever. The great halls were boiling with action and the smiths were hard at work the whole time forging weapons and the sounds made the air shiver. The pens where the wargs were held had to be built to keep the mighty beasts under control but now the orcs guarding them did notice something odd. The usual snarling and growling had been replaced by whining and whimpering and wargs and werewolves were scratching themselves until they bled. The orcs didn't know what to do, the itch seemed to spread like wildfire and soon there wasn't even one warg within the fortress which could be ridden,
They shut off the halls to prevent the disease from spreading further but it was too late, soon scores of wargs did return, itching and biting their own flesh to alleviate the agony. The healers tried their best but could do naught and not even the power of the maiar serving the dark lord could do anything about it. Sauron was fuming with anger and Morgoth himself was also angry but not concerned, he was sure they didn't need the wargs after all. Then orcs started getting ill, the hygiene of Angband was non existent at its best and orcs did their business wherever and whenever they needed to go. Soon the floors and corridors were covered with pools of fetid faeces and the stench was unbelievable. Orc crouched down racked by stomach pain and shat everywhere and this too spread. When someone was sent to gather the slaves to clean up the mess it was discovered that most of the elves and humans were gone and Morgoth was roaring with anger. This was the work of the valar but they had never been that ruthless nor as cunning as the one behind this. The orcs were unable to fight and the wargs were attacking anybody daring to get closer to them, even their masters.
Morgoth was so angry he barely could think and he wanted to unleash all his worst weapons at once, bringing the enemy down once and for all but Sauron did manage to calm him down. That was surely what the valar anticipated and he didn't want to become predictable now did he? Of course not, that would be a weakness and so he didn't do anything at all, he just waited for the next move of these puny losers. The next move came faster than he had anticipated, a horn was heard and he ran to the balustrade to see what this was about and he gaped. On a hilltop not far from the fortress he saw a familiar figure, holding the goddamn silmaril he had lost. How did they dare taunt him thus? And bringing that goddamn elven king back from the dead? He had crushed the fool, and now he was there again? Morgoth felt a sting in his foot, that wound had never healed and he felt his anger overflowing. No, this was too much, his lieutenant could plead all he liked, this he had to deal with single handed. He swept down the stairs and put on his most terrifying armour. This time he would smash that insolent elf once and for all and then he would break the valar, one by one and spare Manwë to the last, let him watch it all.
He ran out of the gates like a huge dark storm clouded by lightening and darkness and raced towards the speckle of light which was the elven king and the goddamn gem. He would reclaim it and put it back in his crown where it was supposed to be. He didn't care about the war now, all that mattered was his vengeance.
CeKay was shivering as the dark lord emerged, he was terrifying but she was determined and let the horse run lightfooted over the sand. She just had to keep this monster occupied for a few short hours and she was sure she could do that. She released nanites as she rode, ordered them to multiply and they did. This plain would become a trap, and she started shouting insults as she kept her distance to the limping giant. His great hammer of war could easily crush her but she wouldn't die and any damage would repair itself, that was at least some comfort. "Do you recognize this oh master of thralls?"
She let the huge figure get closer before she changed her direction again and the light from the gem seemed to hurt the dark vala and yet he did covet it, like nothing else. The shiny speckle of light all that he saw, his entire mind set upon it and his troops and maiar suddenly felt abandoned and retreated to the fortress. This was what CeKay had foreseen and she grinned as she kept the dark lord chasing her, fuelled his anger with her words. "Oh but I think you don't deserve it, a woman did take it from you and she said it was like snatching candy from a kid!"
Morgoth roared and now the nanites had managed to transform the hard surface to mud. His feet did sink into the sticky substance and he wasn't as fast anymore. His roars of anger did make the mountains tremble and shake and the troops of the valar heard it from afar and shuddered, what was going on?
The slaves were running for their lives and the desperation gave new strength to them all, they rushed over the plains and those strong did carry the weak. The four maiar did hide them in a cloud of dust and when the front lines saw them there were a great deal of confusion until they saw that these were elves and not orcs. Then many raced forth and helped their kin and the slaves were brought back to the camps, most were completely exhausted and the four maiar did tell everybody what CeKay had told them to say. Now they could only hope that their friend out there got away from this in one piece.
