Chapter 107

What followed in the next few years is well known, and I will not recount my part in it at great length, for it no longer directly concerns the sad history of the land of Rhudaur save as an increasingly implacable foe. After the rejection of his embassy King Argeleb, now certain that Ulfred was in league with Angmar and would soon commence a new assault on his borders ordered that further fortifications be constructed along the Weather Hills. These would provide a bulwark against attack from the east, for while Amon Sul was held the Great East Road would remain closed to our foes, representing as it did by far the best and quickest route westward for any great host. To the regret of Prince Merendir and those who had built the place and served there the outpost at Amon Perin was abandoned and destroyed at this time, for it was not deemed strong enough to withstand any kind of sustained assault and there were fewer travellers on the road now Rhudaur had grown markedly more hostile. We returned to Amon Sul, which happily allowed me to spend more time with Elien, and our company became involved in the work of constructing the new fortifications. This duty, though arduous and sometimes dangerous was something I found immensely satisfying and it allowed me to learn something of the trade of stonemason that I had once contemplated as an alternative to soldiering.

In 1352, with the new defences only partially complete we were called upon to repel the first of numerous attacks from Rhudaur and Angmar. A large host, swelled by Northmen and Orcs marched from Lastbridge and the two armies met again at what became known as the Battle Vale. There for the first time we were pitted directly against our own countrymen, and though it was a bitter thing we gave them no quarter and drove their host back along the road after a hard fight. Once again the cavalry of Arthedain proved decisive for despite greater numbers they had no horse of their own to counter with and it left them at a disadvantage. Prince Arveleg commanded that day and had the victory, and he proved himself a courageous and adept leader. The few prisoners and we took during the battle, some of them willing deserters who afterwards joined our ranks brought us ill tidings from our homeland. The initial peace and prosperity that had marked the early years of King Ulfred's rule was now at an end, and he had grown increasingly high handed and cruel. Those of obvious Dunedain lineage who held land or property were often singled out, their holdings appropriated and their captive menfolk sent north out of Rhudaur to an uncertain fate. In time shortage and hunger returned to haunt the Kingdom too, for after the ever growing armies and Angmar had taken their due there was often not enough left from the harvests to meet the needs of the remainder of the population.

We had to repel further assaults in the years before the fateful events of 1356, and during that time Norchon was slain, and his loss was greatly mourned by all who had known him. He was one of the finest and bravest men I had the honour to serve alongside and the King himself came to Amon Sul and said the words of departure for him at his burial, for they had been fast friends. He was replaced as captain of the company of exiles by Eryndir, who I had grown to love as a brother, but he was destined to hold the position for just a short time before he too was slain during an ambush. Afterwards the captaincy passed to me, though others amongst us could equally have served.

The winter of 1355 was the worst for many years and for a while we became prisoners on our hilltops, and were forced to go on short rations just as some of us had many years before in Northford. But eventually spring came, and with it signs that the enemy was planning a greater assault upon us than any we had previously seen. The stone saw countless men and orcs marching southward out of Angmar and the Shaws and massing at Bearcliffe and Lastbridge. Word was sent at once to Fornost, and preparations put in place to bolster our numbers, and soon a mighty host stood camped at the foot of the hill and the King himself returned and took command of the defence. My parting from Elien at the Tower was full of foreboding and sadness, for we knew that this time more than many others before might be our last, and that the great battle that lay ahead would change the course of many lives.

They came soon afterwards, the greatest host seen in the north since the time of the Last Alliance, like a dark cloud spread across the plain as far as the eye could see. It was rumoured the King Of Angmar himself rode with them and commanded them, though afterwards none reported having seen him in the field. The Silver Captains however had returned, and rode hither and thither on black horses, commanding and marshalling their hosts in accord with their master's bidding. We met them on the plain below the hill, for as great as the host of Arthedain was we were outnumbered and Argeleb wished to leave open the possibility of retreat to the line of fortresses on the hills open should the day go against us. I gave no speech to my men as we waited for the order to advance, for none was needed, for they were all veterans now of many battles and their fierce devotion to duty had won them much renown. We fought on the right flank, amongst the companies of foot from Cardolan and faced orcs and northmen, and though at first we clove through their ranks like fire through a summer forest their numbers were so great that our advance stalled and we risked being cut off. Long did we fight that day, until their dead lay scattered as thick as the leaves on a forest floor, but still they came and now exhausted, the tide began to turn against us. We fell back, but our host had become divided and we were unable to regain the hills, instead being driven south and west away from the road. Elsewhere disaster had struck, for during the retreat an enemy archer had loosed a hopeful shot towards our lines and found a mark, for King Argeleb was felled by a shaft that caught him by mischance between gorget and breastplate. His guard carried him with all haste up to the fortress but he was dead by the time he reached the gate. Thus passed the mightiest King of our age.

But we knew nothing of this until later, and once clear of our pursuers we set about regrouping in the empty lands in the fading light of evening. The enemy, intent on the fortresses had made what turned out to be a grave error when they ceased their pursuit for not only did they let slip a sizeable part of the our host but also the Princes Arveleg and Merendir. Although tired and hungry we maintained our order and discipline and after a cold night in the open formed up and marched west for Bree. Prince Arveleg had wisely decided not to spend the lives of any more of his men unnecessarily in trying to regain the fortresses, which had been well provisioned and were prepared for the possibility of a lengthy siege, and instead we went west to rest and regroup and wait for reinforcements with which to mount a relief. So long as the fortresses stood firm the enemy would find themselves, as Rhudaur had in times past, having to support a large force in a barren and empty land, with the inevitable difficulties this would cause.

So it was that we remained at Bree for three weeks whilst reinforcements arrived from the north and west. But it was the last of those to come from the west who gave us greatest heart and certainty of victory, for to our astonishment when Prince Merendir returned from Ost-en-Tyrn with all the remaining strength of Cardolan they were accompanied by a host of the Elder folk from Lindon, led by their Prince Cirdan. Like a vision from a tale of ancient times they were, splendid and terrible, their spear tips and silver armour catching fire in the reflected light of the setting sun when we first beheld them. They sang too, a song of great beauty still, but now filled with strength and ancient rage, and our spirits were raised further when we heard it for we knew we would be avenged for the death of our King and all the others we had lost. So it proved, for the sudden arrival of Cirdan's host filled our foe with terror and none could withstand them. Then the fortresses were opened and our forces streamed down from the hills and joined the slaughter and the hosts of Angmar and Rhudaur, weakened by the long siege, were broken and utterly routed.

The victory of Prince Arveleg, soon to be King, was complete, but for my own Company the campaign had been an expensive one and almost half our former strength were now slain or wounded. So it was that the joy Elien and I felt at our reunion afterwards, something which we had barely dared hope for, was tempered by grief at the loss of so many of our good friends and countrymen. But the new King Arveleg, who had once viewed the exiles with suspicion and doubt now commended our service in the highest terms and spoke the words of departure for our fallen himself when they were laid to rest in the earth afterwards.

Though the defeat of Angmar and Rhudaur had come at a heavy price, it bought the Kingdom of Arnor many long years of peace. Arveleg, like his father was a man of vision and was quick to take advantage of the new situation, rebuilding the fort at Amon Perin and establishing further strongholds along the road and the west bank of the Hoarwell to keep watch on the enemy and prevent them from crossing the river in strength again. To that end the following year we besieged and captured the West Gate at Lastbridge and drove the enemy back across the bridge, and the exiles of Rhudaur were once again in the forefront of that battle. Once taken, the west bank was quickly fortified and a second rampart and gate erected using stone from the many buildings on that side of the river, denying Rhudaur the river crossing and any further access to the road west. But we advanced no further, for our commanders judged that it did not warrant the losses that would surely follow such a move, and so we remained where we were, tantalisingly close to our former home. That home now had a somewhat desolate air about it, for notwithstanding the effect of our presence it appeared that the streets were much quieter than they had once been and many of the buildings we could see from our vantage point were disused and falling into ruin. The great fortress and citadel still loomed over the place though, and when I thought that the evil traitor Barachon might still be lurking within those walls I was filled with hatred and I longed to be avenged upon him for all his treacherous deeds.

But it was a revenge that I was never able to taste, for it was whilst we were fortifying the bridge that I was subject to a misadventure that irrevocably changed the course of my life. A stone block that was being lifted onto the new rampart came loose, toppled and struck me on the shoulder. The blow shattered the bones within and I knew at once that I would never wield a sword again. It was a bitter thing indeed for one who had come through some of the greatest battles of the age almost unscathed to be brought low by such a petty mischance.