The Stranger in Middle Earth

I do not own the rights to the Lord of the Rings

Chapter fourteen

Pelannor Fields

We crested the final hill and saw the enemy spread out before us. I had never seen an army that massive in my life and neither had I imagined one. I looked at the men around me. The English Company was at the front of the Army of Rohan not far from King Theoden so we got a perfect view of them. I looked at the men around me. Markus was directly to my right and along from him was Jason and then Robert. Father Harold was at the back of the army, waiting for the end of the battle when he would give last rights. I, Markus and Robert wore full plate armour awhile Jason wore half plate and a kettle helmet. He was no longer carrying the standard, that was being carried by a knight named Gregory of Cumbria, but Jason was holding his billhook. Robert and Markus held lances and I held my Alaric, my poleaxe was strapped to my back. Most of the others had lances as well. I looked at the massive army of Mordor that we would face in battle. As I took a comforting breath to get rid of the sick feeling in my stomach I looked at my cousin. Through the T shaped gap in his helmet I saw that he was as nervous as I.

'My father and brother's in that city,' Markus said with his voice filled with dread.

'They'll be fine,' I told my cousin as I tried to convince myself of that.

'We must be madmen to come here,' he said to himself.

'Either mad or brave,' Robert said from his horse.

'I'm the madman,' Jason loudly proclaimed.

A few of us nervously chuckled at his joke.

'I'll race you to their lines,' I said to Markus.

Beneath me I felt Julius shift nervously. To calm him I gently patted Julius on the neck.

'We'll be fine,' I whispered to my horse.

Theoden sat on his horse, Snowmane, and formed a plan against the enemy force. After a few moments he nodded to himself and started riding down the length of the line giving orders.

'Eomer,' he ordered, 'take your eored down the left flank. Gamling, Robert, follow the kings banner down the centre. Grimbold, take your company right after you pass the wall. Forth, and fear no darkness!'

As his officers rode down the front of the army to follow their kings orders the king himself turned to face his forces.

'Arise! Arise Riders of Theoden! Spears shall be shaken. Shields shall be splintered. A sword day! A red day! Ere the sun rises!'

Every man levelled his weapon and I did the same with Alaric. The king raised his sword and galloped down the length of the line tapping each soldiers weapon with his blade.

'Ride now!' he declared. 'Ride now! Ride! Ride for ruin and the worlds ending!'

He tapped Alaric and I felt my confidence grow. He lowered his sword and turned his sword to face the enemy. Holding his sword aloft he declared,

'Death!'

The Rohirrim echoed him but the English Company didn't.

'Death!' Theoden cried again and this time some of the Company joined the Rohirrim in their cheer.

'DEATH!' Theoden declared for the third time. That time I and the rest of the Company joined the cheer.

'DEATH!'

'Forth Eorlingas!'

The battle horns blew and the line advanced. As we moved forwards with a cheer I felt my heart start to race. I reached up my hand towards my helmets visor and pulled it down. Every sound was muffled but I could still hear the thunder of thousands of hooves. We moved at a canter at first to keep our formation until the king broke into a gallop. We commanded our horses to gallop at full speed towards the enemy. Beneath me the ground was a blur and the wind rushed through my helmets visor stinging my eyes. I held my poleaxe high, ready to strike down every Orc I saw. The Orcs, hoping that they could stop us, sent a hail of arrows down towards us. Around me I heard men screaming as they fell from their horses but I wasn't harmed. I felt one arrow bounce off of my armour. My confidence grew, my fear vanishing in our charge as I raised my sword high ready to strike down each Orc I came upon. Ahead I saw the Orcs already starting to run away from us. With one last roar of defiance we crashed into the Orc army.

I swung my sword down slicing off a head and then hacking the arm from another. I didn't notice the black blood splatter onto my armour or the men falling dead around me. All I could see was the horde of Orcs we were cutting a swathe through. I swung my sword down again and struck down another Orc. The entire Orc line had disintegrated into nothing. Their fear drove them back. A few of them with some backbone tried to stand against us. They were few and far between though and we annihilated the Orcs. They fell like wheat to a scythe.

Julius tuned to dodge and Orc sword blow and I finished off the Orc with Alaric. I looked around me at the other soldiers. Jason was tearing through the enemy, grunting and growling with each swing of his billhook. Markus had discarded his lance and was instead using his sword. With skill and intelligence he stabbed down at the joints and gaps in the Orcs armour. Robert killed quickly and neatly, striking down each Orc that dared to attack him. With a hard swing I cleaved open the skull of an Orc and then stabbed another through the shoulder and down into its lungs. The Orcs broke and fled and we rode them down. That was when the serpent struck.

I struck down another Orc and I was preparing to give chase when I felt the ground shake. I looked towards the south where I saw them.

One of the greatest warriors fighting for Mordor was a general from Harad. He was the Black Serpent. He and his force of eighteen thousand cavalry from Harad, a land far to the south and an old enemy of Gondor, were charging towards us. His plan was to drive us off the field through numbers alone and break our will to fight by killing Theoden.

When Theoden saw the Harad cavalry he didn't hesitate.

'Robert, take five companies and flank them! Everyone else charge!' he bellowed and he led us into the fight.

Robert gave his orders through Jason who belted out the orders at the top of his lungs. Five companies, including the English Company, followed the Banner of Saint George to the east of the Harad cavalry. I looked as the army of Rohan and Harad clashed in one of the largest cavalry battles in history. The Harad numbers were starting to tell as they swarmed around the Rohirrim. Our small force of just five hundred cavalry stopped a distance from the battle and then turned, formed a line and prepared to charge. The knights and most heavily armed men at arms were in the front line with the Rohirrim behind us. Robert took a look at the battle and saw the Black Serpents banner, driving its way towards Theoden.

'To the Serpent!' Robert shouted and we charged into the battle.

As we galloped towards the flank of the Harad cavalry I closed my eyes and sent a silent prayer to God. I knew that they would be far more dangerous than the Orcs. Looking at them I saw that the Haradrim were dressed in light armour, red and brown cloaks, robes and turbans. I raised up Alaric and we crashed into the flank of the Haradrim. I sliced the head off of one and swung at another. He caught my blade with his scimitar and then pulled his sword away from mine ready to swing again. He swung and I blocked his attack. I held his blade and then swung my blade down towards him. My sword sliced down across his chest, cutting him from his collar bone to his waist. Red blood spluttered from him, splashing across my cuirass, and he fell dead. The next Haradrim thrust at me with a spear but it broke against my armour. I thrust Alaric at him and stabbed him through the chest killing him with one blow. We drove our way towards the Black Serpent killing every Haradrim in our path. I looked around me and saw one of our knights battling three Haradrim. One sliced at his neck with an axe and hacked halfway through. The knight fell from his horse, blood staining his shining armour and his head only just hanging onto the rest of his body. One of the men at arms fell dead with a spear through his back and him grabbing the sword, his face locked in a silent scream. I swung at the next Haradrim, anger rising in my veins. I hacked him across his face and then across his chest. The next one I slashed across the stomach spilling the man's innards across the ground and his horse. Another charged at me with an axe, the head red with blood, and aimed at my neck. I blocked the axe with my sword. He pulled his weapon away and swung again. This time I ducked my head down and the axe passed over my head. I stabbed at him beneath his rib cage killing that one as well. Robert led the way gutting every enemy who tried to fight him. Following him we battled our way through the Haradrim cavalry towards the Black Serpent and his body guard from behind. From the front Theoden and his Royal Guard were battling towards the Serpent as well. We had him surrounded.

Markus cleaved through another Haradrim's head and then sliced another one's neck. A Haradrim swung his scimitar at my cousin bouncing off of his helmet. That warrior was fast though. He wore the strong armour and had the training of the Serpents bodyguard. The Harad warrior sliced three more times and my cousin was barely keeping him back. The Harad warrior then stopped, took a shaky breath, and fell dead. Behind him was Jason, a snarl across his face. They nodded at each other and dove back into the fight.

Jason killed anyone who got in his path. Wielding his billhook with years of practice he killed two with one swing of his weapon. A Haradrim cavalryman then charged at Jason with his spear aimed at Jason's horse. The spearhead was driven deep into the horses head killing the poor animal. Jason jumped off of his horse in time to not be trapped beneath it. When he hit the ground he picked up his billhook and stood up ready to keep fighting. One Haradrim horseman, armed with a scimitar, rode past him and swung down at Jason. Jason blocked the blow with his left vambrace and swung his billhook behind the horsemans neck, pulling him down to the ground and then finished him off with a boot to the face.

Robert killed another Haradrim as he got closer to the Black Serpent. With us behind him tearing through the Haradrim he knew it was only a matter of time until we defeated this foe. Theoden reached the Black Serpent and the two of them duelled on horseback against each other. They swung their blades at each other trading blows and parrying until at last Theoden dealt the final blow. With one great swing of his sword he killed the Black Serpent. Seeing their leader die was all it took to break the morale of the Haradrim. They retreated south back to their homeland. Instead of pursuing them we went after the Orcs who were running towards Osgiliath.

'Make safe the city!' Theoden shouted over the noise of battle.

We who were pursing the Orcs stopped when we saw what was coming towards us. In the distance, coming from the direction the Orcs were retreating, they came.

'You have got to be joking,' I said out loud.

The Mumakil came upon us. I had seen drawings of animals in my world called Elephants. The Mumakil looked similar but for one main difference. Size. The Mumakil were massive beasts, each one at thirty five feet tall and on each ones back was a bamboo and canvas harness that archers stood on. Each one was driven by a man standing on the back on the beast's neck using reins attached to the animal's ears.

The ground trembled beneath my feet as the dozen beasts advanced upon us and their passengers shouted out their war cries.

'Reform the line!' Theoden ordered us.

As quickly as we could we reformed a front line facing the enemy. The Mumakil roared and charged towards us at full speed. A Rohirric horn blasted out and I heard Theoden declare,

'CHARGE!'

With a defiant roar we raced towards them across Pelannor and the next stage of the battle began.

Inside Minas Tirith the battle continued. My uncle stood on top of the barricade bringing his sword down on every Orc that tried to cross it. All around him men fought and died and killed. The fighting was cut throat and savage. All of the nobility of war had vanished by then, replaced by the need to survive. To my uncles left stood Denethor and Faramir fighting side by side. Orcs tried to clamber over the barricade but were cut apart. To my uncles right a Gondorian soldier was stabbed by a spear in the shoulder. The soldier dropped his sword and fell down screaming.

'Someone take that mans place!' my uncle ordered as the soldier was dragged to back of the line where stretcher bearers were waiting.

Thundering up the streets came Orc after Orc. It felt like an endless tidal wave of them were bearing down upon the defenders. As my uncle looked at them he shook his head. The army of Rohan was battling the Mumakil and he could see it all from where he was. He knew then that our chances of victory had never been as slim. In his moment of lost concentration an Orc was about to strike him down when Pippin stabbed the creature.

'Well done Master Hobbit,' my uncle said and then gutted another Orc.

'Thank you sir,' Pippin said as he blocked a blow from another Orc.

The Orcs heard a yell coming from behind them and they retreated from the barricade. The defenders didn't cheer. After hours of fighting they had lost close to half of their men. My uncle had ordered many of the men back up to the fourth level where to prepare more defences. Only two hundred of his men were still on the second level fighting. When the Orcs had pulled back behind a bend in the street my uncle got to work again. He ordered the men directly at the front to the rear so the fresh men at the back could fight. My uncle stayed at the front though. That was his place as a leader. Denethor stayed at the front with him as well.

'You can go to the rear,' my uncle told him.

'I belong here at the front. This is my city and I will not let it fall.'

'Good.'

'I wanted to thank you,' he said to my uncle.

'What are you thanking me for?'

'For relieving me of command. You finally snapped the sense back into me.'

'I didn't do it for that reason. I did it for my home. If this city falls so shall my home.'

'I see. I would have done the same.'

'I see then that you think of what is necessary rather than what would make others happy.'

'That is correct Supreme Commander Harris.'

Their talk was interrupted by a roar. A Troll, the last Troll still alive after hours of fighting, charged towards them. My uncle only had five archers with him and he knew that they weren't enough to pierce the Trolls armour.

'Fall back!' my uncle ordered and his soldiers followed his order. All but one. My uncle himself.

He stood with his feet planted on the ground and his sword raised ready to battle the brute. He stood ten yards away from the barricade and when the Troll smashed through it he didn't flinch. The Troll roared when it saw its prey. Thinking it would be an easy kill the beast raised its hammer and brought it down. My uncle dodged it and the hammer smashed into the ground cracking the pavement. My uncle moved quickly and swung his sword into the Trolls wrist cutting down to the bone. He pulled the blade out and struck twice more cutting into the Trolls leg and arm. The Troll was slower than the one he faced in Osgiliath but it was still a formidable enemy. The Troll, enraged by my uncles fighting skill swung again with its hammer and narrowly missed him. My uncle needed to end the fight quickly before the Orcs came. He could already hear them howling as they came closer. My uncle saw a weak point in the Trolls armour, a gap on its side. With a good thrust up he could kill it. My uncle charged forwards, ducking under a swing of the hammer and stabbed through the weak point in the armour. With all his might he pushed his sword through the gap, black blood pouring over his fingers, until he could push it no further. Then, with one mighty last effort he yanked his blood drenched sword from the Troll and the beast fell to the ground. My uncle took a moment to catch his breath but that was all the Troll needed. In one last burst of its cruel life it swung its hammer into my uncle's left arm. The impact threw my uncle into a wall. Doing all he could to not scream in agony he gripped his wounded arm. He didn't look at it but he felt the pain. Hot, white pain. Trying the breathe he felt a pain in his chest. Broken ribs. After a great effort he pulled off his helmet and felt fresh hard, hot air scraping his face. Looking up at the sky he saw dark clouds above mixed with columns of thick black smoke. Slowly his eyes turned towards where the last barricade once stood and he saw Orc streaming through. He sent a prayer to God that the defences would hold just as he saw an Orc running at him. My uncle closed his eyes.

When we came close enough to the Mumakil they swung their tusks down sending men flying through the air. Some were crushed beneath their feet while others were shot by the archers on top of the Mumakil. I swerved Julius out of the way of a Mumakil's foot as an arrow only missed me by inches. I rode past the bodies of two fallen knights, their bright shining armour tinted red by their own blood.

'This is impossible!' I shouted at Markus who was riding next to me.

'There has to be a way!' he shouted back. 'How did the Romans do it!'

'They avoided them!' I answered as we rode beneath one and out the other side.

'Then we need to think up a plan of our own!'

I tried to think of something but the impossibility of this battle was overwhelming me. To make matters worse the Orcs had returned. They were more afraid of their own leaders than they were afraid of us. I swung down and killed another Orc as it tried to stab me. I looked up at the Mumakil and shook my head. It was impossible. Then I saw one of the Mumakil sharply turn to the right and crash into another one of its kind killing the both of them.

Markus and I charged beneath another Mumakil and I managed to slice at its leg but it did nothing. When we emerged on the other side of the beast I turned to see Pippin and the other rider on their horse riding under that same Mumakil. The other rider had a sword in each hand and when they rode under it the soldier sliced deep into the Mumakils ankles. I guessed that he had cut something important because the Mumakil roared in pain as it fell down.

We started gaining ground as hundreds of our mounted archers focused their fire on the Mumakils head. If just one arrow hits a Mumakil in the eye it can die. So many archers fired on it that one was sure to hit the eye. The beast fell dead.

I rode on and cut down one of the Mumakils archers who had fallen from the beast. We were holding on by just a thread and a thread can be cut so easily. I rode past another Mumakil and looked up at the archers on its back. Gritting my teeth in frustration I didn't see the arrow. It missed me but struck Julius in the neck. The black horse whinnied in pain as he fell dead. I was thrown from my companion's saddle and I crashed onto the hard ground. I felt pain all over me but I was sure nothing was broken. I struggled to my feet and looked over at Julius. His lifeless body looked so peaceful, almost asleep. I turned around and saw Orcs and Haradrim charging towards me. As fast as I could I charged into the battle and blocked a blow from a Haradrim with a scimitar. I forced his blade down and sent the pummel of my sword into his face. After that a ran an Orc through and sliced another across its middle. Then a Haradrim spearman stabbed at me. I hacked my sword at the spear breaking it and then I stabbed him. I pushed my sword straight through him until I was looking him in the eye. I twisted Alaric and then pulled my sword from him. I looked at my enemies body for just a moment until I was attacked by another Orc. They would just rush me and I had no problem slicing them down.

The next enemy was a Haradrim swordsman who rushed me with a scimiatar. He was a skilled warrior who put up a good fight. I took two blows on my armour before I sent him to the ground with a gauntleted punch to the face. He looked up at me as I thrust my sword down into his belly.

'Rally to me!' I heard Theoden shout over the din of battle but his orders were drowned out by a terrible screech from the sky.

I looked towards Theoden and the Witch King diving out of the sky towards him. The Fell Beast the Witch King rode grabbed Snowmane with its mouth and threw them, horse and rider through the air. The men of Rohan were loyal to their king but they feared the Witch King. The Rohirrim retreated from the King and I was about to do the same.

'Feast on his flesh,' I heard the Witch King hiss to his mount.

I couldn't let that happen. I battled my fear and rushed as fast as I could towards the king. To my relief I saw that one Rohirric soldier stood in the Path of the Witch King.

'I will kill you if you touch him,' the soldier defiantly declared as he raised his sword and shield. His voice wasn't very strong. He must be teenager I thought to myself.

I was halfway there when the Witch King commanded his beast to attack. The Fell Beast extended its neck to snap at the soldier but he dodged it and hacked into the beasts neck slicing it off. Rising from the twitching corpse came the Witch King. He wore a black cloak and a black helmet. I couldn't see eyes or a face. Instead there was an empty black space. Armed with a sword and a mace he attacked the young soldier nearly hitting him. The Witch King swung his mace and the young soldier raised his shield to defend himself. The blow destroyed the shield and the soldier screamed in pain, grasping his arm. I ran all the faster towards the battle between the two of them. The Witch King picked the young soldier up by the neck and prepared to kill him when I saw something. Merry the Hobbit. He was creeping along the ground towards the fight with a dagger in his hand.

'No man can kill me,' the Witch King hissed at the soldier.

With a great effort he stabbed his dagger into the Witch Kings leg.

The leader of Mordor's armies fell to his knees with a screech and the soldier he was about to kill stood up and pulled off his helmet. What I saw almost made me drop my sword in amazement.

Eowyn threw her helmet to the ground and declared,

'I am no man!'

With a shout she thrust her sword into the Witch Kings hood and he screeched in pain. His armour and cloak collapsed onto itself and crumbled to dust, scattering to the winds. Eowyn fell to the ground exhausted from her battle.

For a second I smiled, knowing that the leader of Mordors army was destroyed. But as I turned towards the city of Minas Tirith I saw the Anduin and the fleet of black ships sailing up the river. Enemy reinforcements. I looked at the thousands of bodies scattered across the field. The Mumakil were still slaughtering their way through our ranks and the Orcs were battling us on foot.

'It's over,' I said out loud as I made my peace with God.

AN: Yes Theoden died here. Sorry if you were hoping he would live. Also, let me know if you think I went a little too graphic at some points here. I was watching Conan the Barbarian while writing this :).

So, will James live? All will be revealed.

Review responses:

Kiya: Thanks for your continuous reviews. I take you saying I would be a good screen writer as a very good compliment.

Jack Redhawke: I hope this was MOAR enough for you.

Star-Of-Radiance: I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter. I hope you liked this one as well.

As ever, have a nice day and please review.