Chapter Sixteen

He made himself stay in the Hall of Fire after supper, standing close to the windows so that his view was of the moonlit gardens rather than the hearths or the other elves present. The music no longer overwhelmed him, he had begun to learn some of the sagas by ear.

"Someone is playing yours, I believe," Elrond murmured as he came to stand by him. "Across the hall." Glorfindel merely nodded. He could not reconcile the fire with the idea that they would sing songs in which he was the hero.

"You should listen. It may convince you that you are welcome here."

"I am truly sorry for the evils inflicted upon your people, Elrond."

"Sirion? You are no more to blame than I. As for, before, I have my Father's reassurances that you did all you could to stop it." Idril's support had gone a long way it seemed. Glorfindel knew he should still have done more at Alqualondë.

"My Lord! Elrond!" Maethor pushed his way through those gathered in the hall, parting them neatly in two. "A company of orcs have passed the first outposts. Five hundred were counted."

"Assemble the full guard." Glorfindel was moving immediately, before Elrond had even given the orders. The entire hall had suddenly fallen silent, those who formed part of the guard vanishing towards their rooms.

Isowen was in the rank behind him as they formed up in the courtyard, twelve lines of cavalry and as many on foot. Asfaloth followed Hesten's bay obediently along the causeway. It was no simple patrol, yet it was not quite an army that left the valley. There were still those capable of fighting left behind, Elrond and Erestor among them. Should the eight dozen elves not succeed in protecting their valley, they were not the last line of defence. He would have preferred his sister to remain safe, yet was reminded that she was better used to fighting the war against the orcs than he was.

There was a different feeling in the air beyond the ford, no longer did it have the serene quality Imladris excluded. A scout rode up to Maethor, inaudible over the sound of hooves.

"Laiken! The west path." A third of their force broke away under Laiken, turning right along the river. Glorfindel rode on until Maethor ordered them to a halt.

"Another company has been sighted," the elleth next to him murmured. Glorfindel knew what he would do, were it him in Maethor's place. He would be circling around to outflank the orcs using their cavalry, instead they rode straight out towards them in a full on charge.

Asfaloth bore down on the hastily forming Orc lines, keeping in rank perfectly behind Hesten. He lowered his lance and the elves collided with the orcs. Blood pounded through his ears, rushing like the wind that accompanied them so that he was almost deaf to the howls of falling orcs and the screams of horses as they thundered across the flat land beside the river. His lance snapped in an orc's chest and he pulled out his sword, cleaving a helmet in two.

It blurred, yet at the same time was as clear as ice. Each move was planned in the rush of the moment, each stroke measured. Then Maethor was turning, having broken through the ranks of the orcs and lost the momentum their charge had given them. They banked sharply, the orcs seeming to multiply around them.

"Back to the ford!" The second company was upon them, bearing down from the west as they were routed by Laiken. Glorfindel found himself riding alongside Maethor, falling behind the rest of the cavalry as they retreated towards the ford. The orcs followed in pursuit, jeering at them as if they had succeeded in a rout. Already Laiken and Hesten were forming up the ranks again beyond the river, archers at the ready to decimate the orcs. Maethor pulled ahead of Asfaloth, jumping half the river where Glorfindel was more cautious in the unfamiliar terrain. The orcs spilled over the bank, flanking him and threatening to cut him off from his fellows.

Water hit his face, cold and hard as Asfaloth bounded into the river. He could feel the power flowing around them, they were too far upstream for it to really have counted as part of the ford.

"Glorfindel!" The orcs entered the river, he could feel them disturbing the water. Anger and desperation roared in his ears, mingled with the noise of the river. He sensed it rising up, swelling into thunder. A solid wall crashed into him painlessly, passing him by as if he was nothing more than a shade.

"Glorfindel?" The water surge vanished as quickly as it came, leaving him dripping wet but still in place on Asfaloth's back. The horse trotted forwards, out of the river to where Isowen was staring at him in shock. Suddenly he looked behind him for the orcs but saw nothing.

"Glor! What happened? What did you do?" He was not aware he had done anything, or he could not pinpoint acting on the river.

"It matters not. Hesten, take the day guard and check the boundary. Glorfindel, come with me," Maethor ordered curtly. The stares of the others hit him as he passed through their ranks. As one body the elves turned, cantering back towards their valley.

Glorfindel tried to think back to exactly what had happened in the river, absently flexing his hand.

"Glor, stop that," Isowen whispered. "It is making everyone else nervous." Following her gaze he folded his hands onto his lap, stroking Asfaloth's neck gently.

Maethor strode off, leaving Glorfindel to hurry along behind him towards Elrond's office. He slowed down only to knock. Elrond, Erestor and Nairn were standing looking out of the window, their frowns staying in place when they turned around. Only Erestor's broke into a softer smirk of exasperation.

"I should have known this had something to do with you," he said quietly. "Exactly what did you do, Fin?"

"He caused the river to flood, drowning the entire orc company." Maethor's tone was somewhere between awed and angry.

"The waterfall was affected too," said Elrond, looking at him curiously. "How did you manage that? No, I have a better question. Could you repeat it?" Erestor's reassuring look told him he knew exactly what Elrond was planning.

"My lords, I suggest we return to the river."