Episode 13: Battlefield (II)
Pelennor Fields"Begone foul dwimmerlaik, lord of carrion! Leave the dead in peace!"
"Come not between the Nazgul and his prey! Or he will not slay thee in thy turn. He will bear thee away to the houses of lamentation, beyond all darkness, where thy flesh shall be devoured, and thy shrivelled mind be left naked to the Lidless Eye."
A sword rang as it was drawn. "Do what you will; but I will hinder it, if I may."
"Hinder me? Thou fool. No living man may hinder me!"
"But no living man am I! You look upon a woman. Eowyn I am, Eomund's daughter. You stand between me and my lord and kin. Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him."
The winged creature screamed at her, but the Ringwraith made no answer, and was silent, as if in sudden doubt. Merry opened his eyes, amazed at the sight of Eowyn facing the dreaded Nazgul. She should not die, so fair, so desperate! At least she should not die alone and unaided. Merry slowly began to crawl, the Black Captain ignoring him as though he were a worm in the mud, so intent was he upon the woman.
The great beast beat its hideous wings, the wind of them foul. Swiftly it fell on Eowyn, striking with beak and claw. But the woman did not blench; a swift stroke from her blade cleaved the beast's outstretched neck asunder, the head falling like a stone. Backward she sprang as the huge shape crashed to ruin, vast wings outspread, crumpled to the earth; and with its fall the shadow passed away. Light fell about her, and her hair shone in the sunrise.
Out of the wreck rose the Black Rider, tall and threatening, towering above her. With a cry of hatred that stung the very ears like venom he let fall his mace. Eowyn's shield was shivered in many pieces, and her arm was broken; she stumbled to her knees. He bent over her like a cloud, mace raised to kill.
But then he too stumbled forward with a cry of bitter pain, and his stroke went wide, driving into the ground. Merry's sword had stabbed him from behind, shearing the black mantle, and passing up beneath the hauberk had pierced the sinew behind the mighty knee.
Tottering and struggling with the last of her strength, Eowyn drove her sword between crown and mantle, as the great shoulders bowed before her. The sword broke, sparkling into many shards. The crown rolled away with a clang. Eowyn fell forward on her fallen foe; the mantle and hauberk now empty. Shapeless they lay now on the ground, torn and tumbled, as a cry went up into the shuddering air, faded into shrill wailing, passing into the wind, as a red glow began to encompass the area around them.
Merry stood there in the midst of the slain, blinking like an owl in that red glow, as it moulded and twisted and became a beast of metal. A cold and inhuman voice rang out from it, its clawed feet stamping the ground as it became solid in the world.
"TRANSPORT 9761COMPLETE. HUMANS AND OTHER UNIDENTIFIED ORGANICS PRESENT."
At that moment there was a great clamour, and all around them horns and trumpets were blowing. Merry looked around, he had forgotten the war, and the world beside, with the arrival of the metal beast. But now he saw that they were in danger of being caught in the midst of a great battle that would soon be joined.
New forces of the enemy were hastening up the road from the River; and from under the walls came the legions of Morgul; and from the southward fields came the footmen of Harad with horsemen before them, and behind them rose the backs of the mumakil with war-towers upon them. But northward the white crest of Eomer led the great front of the Rohirrim which he had gathered and marshalled; and out of the City came all the strength of men that was in it.
The metal beast's head turned back and forth, surveying the two sides as its arms opened up and poured forth glowing tubes, whilst on its shoulder more gleaming silver tubes sprang forth. Merry took a step back, but did not leave Eowyn's side.
"ALERT STATUS: MULTIPLE ORGANICS. TECHNOLOGY PRIMITIVE. THREAT ASSESSMENT: MINIMAL. OFFENSIVE SYSTEMS ACTIVATED. ORGANICS WILL BE ELIMINATED. THIS UNIT IS IN NO DANGER."
Then, the fires began to burn on Pelennor Fields as the armies were laid asunder.
Within Minas Tirith"So passes Denethor, son of Ecthelion," said Gandalf the White. Then he turned to Beregond and the Lord's servants that stood there aghast at what had transpired. "And so pass also the days of Gondor that you have known, for good or evil they are ended. Ill deeds have been done here. Bear away from this unhappy place your comrades who have fallen. And we will bear Faramir, Steward of Gondor, to a place where he can sleep in peace, or die if that be his doom."
Even as Gandalf and his companions came carrying the brier to the main door of the Houses of Healing, they heard a great cry that went up the field before the Gate and rising shrill and piercing into the sky. Gandalf blanched as the sound of it faded, as though stung by some unknown ailment, gripping his staff until his hand was waxen from the hold on it.
"One comes," Gandalf whispered, "one who does not belong."
"Gandalf?" Peppin asked, unnerved from the look on Gandalf's face.
"Shadowfax!" Gandalf cried, "To me! One comes who does not belong! We are needed on the fields! Make haste!"
Shadowfax emerged from the smoke, appearing like the sun overhead. Gandalf swung himself astride his mount, and spurned it towards the Gates of the city, ignoring the cries and protests of men and hobbit around him, ignoring the exclamations of black winged ships sailing towards the city and metal beasts emerging from the air itself.
Pelennor FieldsMerry cowered over the body of Eowyn, hands covering his ears and his shouts trying to drown out the sounds around him. Below, the ground trembled from the movement of the metal beast, purple fire pouring out of its arms and silver-green balls of light bursting from its shoulder tubes. None, not man nor orc, could stand before its terrible might. All were slain, nothing but their clothes and weapons to mark their passage from the world. But Merry would not leave the bodies of his friend and lord, the beast seeming to ignore them for now, intent on destroying the armies surrounding them.
The sound of hoof beats drew Merry's attention, as white light covered the ground around them. Merry wiped the grime from his eyes, an exclamation of joy driving the horrible sounds of distraught from his mouth. Gandalf rode towards them, his staff held before him, as though its light were his standard. Gandalf drew Shadowfax to the front of the metal beast.
"Foul demon! You do not belong here! This is not your time." Gandalf shouted, his voice quivering.
The metal beast focused on Gandalf and his steed, its blue eyes narrowing to small points, "UNUSUAL ENERGY PATTERNS DETECTED. SENSORS INDICATE ABNORMAL BIOELECTRIC ENERGY. SOURCE UNKNOWN."
"Begone, back to whence you came!" Gandalf ordered.
The metal beast lifted it arm, the tube flaring bright for a moment and then issuing forth another stream of purple fire. Merry cried out Gandalf's name, tears springing to his eyes as the fires encompassed his friend. But within that conflagration, white light could be seen, as the fire was split in twain by Gandalf, his staff flashing brightly and turning the fires away from him. The metal beast retracted it arm and studied the white robed man as he dismounted, sending the stallion away.
"ALERT STATUS: SENSORS INDICATE NORMAL HUMAN. NO TECHNOLOGY PRESENT. HUMAN IS IMMUNE TO PRIMARY WEAPONDRY. INSUFFICENT DATA."
Gandalf wrapped both hands around the smooth white wood of his staff, hefting it high above his head. With a cry from his lips the staff exploded with light, as though it was composed not of simple timber but slivers of the very stars themselves.
"Back, machine of metal! Back to whence you came and trouble us no more!" Gandalf shouted. Merry covered his ears once more, Gandalf's voice seeming to shatter even the air around him. Everywhere a hum could be heard, the ground twisting and writhing from it, the air waving as though in a desert, "The door is closed to you!"
The metal beast turned its head back and forth, almost, it seemed to Merry, in confusion. "ALERT. INCONSISTENT DATA."
With a rush Gandalf drove his staff into the ground, the soil lurching upwards from the impact. A wave of white, crackling energy issued forth from the wound in the earth, arching its way towards the machine. Silver jets burst to life on the machine's back, lifting it towards the sky. But the wave of white curved upwards towards it, striking it in the centre of its torso and wrapping around it like luminous serpents. The machine spun around in the air, spinning faster and faster in a circle as the white continued to cover it, until nothing of its blue and silver coated skin could be seen. With a rush of wind and an explosion of noise, the beast vanished into a ball of gleaming radiance, flashing its way towards the clouds and disappearing from the stunned eyes below.
For a long moment the battle was forgotten, all eyes turned towards the heavens and the silver streak of fading light that marked the terrible beast of metal's passage. Merry struggled to his feet, stumbling over to Gandalf, who paced a reassuring hand on the hobbit's shoulder.
"What was that Gandalf?" Merry asked.
"I cannot say, Merry," Gandalf replied, "but it shall trouble us no more."
"You have saved us from the pot only to find us in the kettle," Merry said sadly, looking at the army that was quickly regrouping around them.
"Oh, don't trouble yourself too much with them, Merry," Gandalf said with the hint of a smile, eyes on the black winged ships that were pulling up to the City.
Overhead, the sun shone brightly.