OMG! Congrats guys! We've made it to twenty chapters! I hope you've enjoyed reading the story so far, and it's time to find out what Legolas is really made of because here we are coming to the climax of the story at last. I know you've all been waiting to see how Legolas does. Well we've almost come to that point, but you'll have to wait a while to see. I hope the story has been a good read none the less, and thanks for putting up with me for so long.
Shout outs!
I have 44 reviews now, 49 followers, and 32 of you have dropped favorites! Also the view count is now over 8000 and counting!
Thanks to all of you for your amazing support of me!
Anyway, onto the chapter.
The cold air slapped against the elf's face as he pressed himself as far down into the back of the ship as he could. He had no idea if he was visible from the outside of the ship or not, because he couldn't see the edge of the ship to tell. However Aragorn had warned him to get down, so he had. He heard the sound of great wings passing overhead, and he felt the cold dread of feeling a wraith pass overhead. But they were more preoccupied with something else, and as it saw the ships it assumed they were still commanded by the dark skinned men who had brought them to middle earth, not noticing that the only visible occupants of the ships were two frightened horses, a man, an elf, and a dwarf. Legolas couldn't help but relax a little as the Ring Wraith moved on.
Arod blew a gentle puff of air over the elf's face again, as if trying to calm him. He felt the soft but slightly bristly fur of the horse's sensitive mouth touch his head. Legolas remained still and quiet. He knew that the closer they grew of Gondor and Mordor, the more his two friends worried for him. They didn't want to lose the elf now, after everything they had been through. It seemed cruel. But they knew too that they would not be able to persuade the strong headed elf to leave and go where it was safe. He was going to fight. Legolas supposed that he had gotten that little trait from his father. He was much the same way.
He heard the soft clank of Anduril as Aragorn stood again, satisfied that the danger had passed by now. Gimli soon too stood, and the elf did too. He peered out at the world, seeing a great darkness over the land itself, like a disease. They had passed into the borders of Gondor, and there was little else to do but watch as they began to near the ports. They were heading to the one closest to Minas Terith, and soon they would be preparing to fight. Legolas could still feel a cold touch of dread at the thought of the dark army that walked silently along behind them. Always silent, always cold, filled with such darkness and death.
"Well," Aragorn said. "It seems what have escaped detection for now. We will reach the ports near Minas Terith soon, and then we will go to aid Rohan and the men of Gondor."
"You alright lad?" the dwarf asked the elf, worrying over him in an almost mother hen manner. The elf smiled grimly.
"No Mellon-nin," the elf replied. "But are any of us ready? We must take charge of our destiny now and forge on. If not, then why did we leave at all?"
"True enough lad," the dwarf sighed. "True enough."
"Be quiet," Aragorn warned. "We will come close to Minas Terith soon. Pull out your weapons, crouch, and be ready to go on my signal."
They did as they were instructed. Legolas pulled out his bow and strung an arrow, facing the edge of the boat and preparing to leap when he needed to. He hoped he could avoid crashing into the port or falling into the water. It was difficult to judge distances while he was already in motion or leaping quickly with no idea as to what was before him. He clutched at his bow tightly, and forced himself to calm. Gimli crouched beside the elf, holding his axe ready and giving his friend a grim glance. This might be their last battle together. They had best make it a good one.
Legolas heard as Aragorn crouched, carefully steering so that he wasn't seen. He drew Anduril. The usually irritating sound of metal on metal was now strangely pleasing. Anduril sounded like no other blade that Legolas had ever known. It sounded like ringing bells, like hope, like light. The blade itself, reforged and made anew, made the elf's heart lighter than it had been in a long while. If the crownless indeed could be king, then there was hope left for middle earth. Silently, he thought to himself about the lines of the poem Bilbo had written about Aragorn:
All that is gold does not glitter
not all those who wander are lost:
the old that is strong does not wither,
deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
a light from the shadows shall spring.
Renewed shall be blade that was broken.
The crownless again shall be king.
The thought of the lines gave the elf a little feeling of hope as he sat there, wondering if he would die this day or not. He at last forced the grim thoughts out of his head and shook it at little to clear it. He shouldn't be worried about that. There was no time to worry about that. His job now was to help his friends as best as he can. That meant that he had to help destroy the enemy, even if it cost him his life. He would give everything if it meant that they could live.
Besides, the elf was not alone. Gimli was here with him, and Aragorn was too. They were his dearest friends and they would never forsake him. Arod was here too, ready to serve him, as was the nature within his line. Angrod was out there somewhere, as well as Eomer, Theoden, Gandalf, Merry, Pippin, and so many others. He was never alone. So he could not abandon them.
He could hear sounds of the battle now, the shrieks of the wraiths and the sounds of death and dying men, screaming orcs and horses, and the sound of deep booming footsteps. He felt the sound fill him with even more dread, but the thought of his friends out there, fighting and dying, made his undying loyalty flare again. He felt determination and a grim blood lust settle over him. It was the right inherent in a warrior, and especially one from such a dark home as his own.
They could hear the orcs on the shore, grumbling among themselves as they waited for the pirates to arrive. There was a little shifting as Aragorn silently turned the boat so that theirs was closest to the shore and waited for a moment. One of the orcs stepped forward.
"Late as always," he said. "Get off your boats you sea rats!"
"Now," Aragorn whispered quietly.
The three of them leaped off of the boat, weapons ready. Legolas thankfully landed as lithe as a cat on dry land, his arrow already aimed to take out one of the orcs with a fatal accuracy known only to the elves. Their combined light was blinding to his eyes, but he wasn't going to let that distract him. He silently made a vow to extinguish the light of as many as he could.
"There's plenty for the both of us," Gimli said, looking around.
"It will be a good match, Mellon-nin," the elf said.
"And may the best dwarf win," Gimli added, making his friend smile a little.
Aragorn, with the seriousness of a man awaiting the death of a close friend, raised Andruil and charged forward. Instantly the elf and the dwarf followed. A cry went up from elsewhere. The army of Rohan had seen them, and many feared for them because it seemed foolish for just the three of them to charge an entire batalon of orcs. However then there was another cry, of terror and dread as there came the rushing breath of death. The army of dead came floating across the water, a spectral army with no fear and no possible way of stopping them. The orcs soon panicked and turned to run, but it was no use. The elf, dwarf, and man were bad enough and fearsome warriors, but they could not compare to the army of the dead that could not be stopped.
Like a tidal wave of death they reached forward with freezing fingers to squeeze the life away from others. The trio soon left the army of the dead behind them and ran on to fight, slaying orcs left and right, with Gimli and Legolas shouting their scores between them. Legolas of course was soon winning and it seemed hopeless that the dwarf would ever catch up. But that didn't stop Gimli, son of Gloin from trying.
After a while though, the elf found himself separated by the ever flowing tide of battle from his two friends. Within seconds though Eomer had found him, and instantly leaped forward to help the elf, brandishing his sword on the back of his huge war charger. The fiery red brown horse snorted and pawed at the ground, wanting to taste more blood. The elf and man said nothing for a while, the horse bucking at the orcs and buffeting them away from the elf, who he had seen before and recognized as an ally. The man's sword fell death blows left and right. The elf danced along the body of the horse, quick and stable on his feet, shooting arrows at orcs until he decided to save a few arrows and pulled out his twin blades. He spun them expertly in his hands once and then also began to fight with them.
There was something oddly majestic about that scene, the man and the elf fighting together in such oddly perfect harmony. It spoke of long dead alliances and friendships, and any of their allies that saw it suddenly felt a new found strength at the sight. But it did not make their job any less gruesome, or demanding. Bodies soon formed around them in a large circle, framing out their deadly work. But their duty drove them on, and both were seasoned warriors.
A sudden cry from the elf's right and a loud enraged neigh announced to the elf that Arod hadn't waited patiently on the boat when his master was in danger, and instead leaped forward to defend the blind elf. He killed several orcs, and they backed away warily, looking at the fierce horse. Legolas patted the horse's neck, who was snorting aggressively and stamping at the orcs. Then the elf swung fearlessly onto the back of the white charger. Arod pawed the ground and Legolas again patted his neck, assuring him that they would soon be off again together. Eomer pulled his brown horse next to the fine white one and looked at the elf.
"Come my friend," he said. "Your Fellowship will be worried about, and most of our own men don't realize that you had all survived the pass of the dead at all. Come and we will find them all again. Fight with me!"
"Laho Calad," the elf said with a nod. "Drego morn." (May light flare. May darkness flee)
"May darkness flee," the man agreed.
The two of them spurred their steeds into a gallop across the battlefield, one by snapping reigns and the other by crying a command in elvish. Soon both horses were racing across the battlefield, spelling out death and disaster wherever they took their riders, who were striving to land blows. The two horses were neck and neck, their riders perfectly in sync. Though not by any similar training. Rather, the heat of the battlefield had told them what to do and when. And two such experienced warriors were easily able to anticipate the other's moves, and how best to compliment them. In this way Legolas managed to make his way back towards his two worried friends.
The man and the dwarf were very glad to see the elf unharmed, and also glad to see him reunited with Arod. The beast was very faithful to him and would let no harm befall him as long as he still had the strength to fight on. The dwarf instantly announced to the elf that he had killed 43 orcs, but the elf only smiled and told him that his count was now 56. The dwarf again gasped in mock horror and began to fight harder to kill the orcs around them.
Through the battle though there soon came a sound that pained the elf's eardrums, so low and booming it was. The ground trembled under the legs of the horses, and many men and horses alike nearly panicked. Large elephant like creatures had been fighting them for some time now, but the second wave of them had hit, and it had been devastating to even face a single wave. Legolas looked, and he could see the dull form of the creature and the brightly burning darkness of the darker skinned men that sat on its back. The creatures were crushing men and horses underfoot, and the archers perched on the back of the Oliphants were killing more and more people than they could count. One was turned and began to come towards them.
"Legolas," Aragorn cried, unsure if the elf could even see the creature.
Legolas had, and with a grim determination he knew that he had to bring the creature down. He cried a command to the white horse, and Arod gave an enraged snort and raced right towards the oliphant. The horse had been scared before by the ghosts, but those had no been tangible foes that the horse could understand. The Oliphant on the other hand was. He knew that this could be killed, so he ran forward with no fear towards the creature's legs.
The army of Rohan soon saw their elvish friend and gasped, calling for him to come back. But the elf had no fear. He hardly paused as the archers began to fire at him. They were such bad shots! The horse had no trouble dodging, and soon slipped into a dangerous position, running alongside the legs of the Oliphant. Rohan's archers began firing arrows at the Archers perched on top of the Oliphant, so the archers turned to return fire, expecting the foolish horse and rider to die. But Legolas was ready for this moment. The white horse of Rohan pulled up beside the hind left leg, which was riddled by arrows, and kept this pace.
The elf paused a moment, then leaped onto the leg. He felt a moment of terror. If he fell now it would all be over. But he didn't let it distract him, and his hand gripped one of the firmly lodged arrows. He stopped, listening then to the wind whistling around him, and found the next one, leaping up it like he was climbing a ladder. His allies watched with fear as the nimble elf began to climb up the side of the the Oliphant.
The creature soon noticed his presence and reached back to knock him off with its massive trunk. But he leaped and caught onto the rope on it's back. The creature missed, but the archers realized that the elf was still there. They began to fire at him, but Legolas was too quick for them. He pulled out a single blade and cut the rope that held the basket that was the Archer's perch. It began to slide, and the unfortunate archers fell screaming to the ground. The elf held his blade between his teeth as he held onto the rope and let it pull him onto the ridged back of the Oliphant. He released the rope before it could pull him over, and turned towards the driver.
The driver was glancing over his shoulder nervously, wondering what on earth had happened. He couldn't turn his head fully because if he did he might run the creature into one of his fellow drivers. The elf used this to advantage and leaped forward, taking the blade and killing the man before he could even scream. The elf carefully kept the man in his seat so the creature wouldn't veer in its course and cause more damage. Then he sheathed his blade and instead pulled out his bow and two arrows. He leaped up onto the creature's head and aimed directly into the back of its skull.
With a twang and a scream from the Oliphant, the creature suddenly crashed down onto its knees and moved no more. The elf leaped onto the creature's trunk and slid down it carefully. He leaped off, his heart still hammering fiercely. The army of Rohan gave a cheer, but called for the elf to come to them quickly as well, because there were many orcs behind him. But Arod, faithful as always, soon came running back to the elf. He didn't stop, and instead kept running, just within arm's reach. Legolas grabbed the horse's strong shoulders and swung deftly onto his back, grabbing the harness and leaning into the horse's stride, giving the horse quiet commands to return to the people of Rohan and his friends.
He found Aragorn and Gimli within the crowd of Rohan men. The people of Rohan were astounded at what the elf had managed to do, and blind no less! The thought of what he could do with the full use of his eyes frightened them a little bit. But they were glad that he was on their side in this war. Gimli however felt strongly urged to inform the elf that killing the Oliphant still only counted as one kill. And the elf smiled and decided that he wouldn't count the many archers he had killed, only the driver, to give the dwarf a hope at trying to catch up.
They soon realized though that the battle was far from over. The men of Rohan began to take out a few more of the Oliphants, killing the riders, who would fall and cause the beast to fall or knock over more of its kin. Any of the men on its back who survived were quickly cut down, and the men or Rohan began to kill the orcs that were still on a rampage. However, then came the bone numbing shriek of the Nazgul.
Men in Gondor and of Rohan covered their ears and screamed, feeling terror and a great sense of hopelessness. The elf knew this fear well, but as he saw his allies falling prey to it, he felt angry. He couldn't be afraid of them. Not anymore. This time they would feel his wrath. And what a might wrath it was. He pulled out his bow and notched two arrows, looking up at the great wheeling shapes in the sky of the Nazgul's steeds, and released them with a twang. Two cries came from the heavens, and the Wraiths came plummeting towards the earth. The two Wraiths stood, hissing at the elf, and the fearless elf commanded his horse to go forward carefully.
He approached him at almost what could be called a crawl. Arod snorted and pawed at the ground angrily. The men backed away, and the elf could not hear where Gimli and Aragorn went. No doubt they were running some mission of their own. He didn't really care at this point. He felt foolish to have called the wrath of two of the nine against himself, but he could not back down now from his blatant challenge. The wraiths hissed at him in the black speech.
"Elf," one said. "You have been nothing but a thorn in our side since we first learned of your existence."
"Our master thought to tame your wild blood," the second said. "To give you a new chance at life and a glorious place at his side. But you have proven that your elvish blood is too much to handle."
"We will end you here elf," the first hissed. "Die like the runt you are!"
The two Wraiths drew their blades. The evil blades seemed to scream as they were drawn from their sheathe, as if an arrow was being drawn from the wound of some terrible beast, and its agony was clear for all to hear. The men backed away, terrified and unsure if they should help or not. Six of the nine circled overhead, but where the ninth was, he didn't know. Though, he knew he had little choice but to face them now. He drew his father's blades and touched the hilt of the one in his right hand to his lips, praying silently.
He thought of his father, how broken he was. He thought of his mother, so injured and so close to death at such a young age that he hardly remembered the night when she was sent across the sea so she might have any hope of living at all. He thought of his people, so broken and abused by one mistake that they had all made. He thought of his friends, fighting to survive now. He thought of Sam and Frodo, lost among the crags of Mordor. He thought of his own impending doom. Well, if he was to die here, then he would at last give these people hope for the future. He would drive away the Ring Wraiths, even if he had to die to do it.
"Valor," the elf said quietly. "Grant me strength now."
"Prepare to die, elf," the second hissed.
"I do not fear you," the Prince said loud enough that everyone could hear. He twirled the blades once in his hands, and then gave Arod a soft command.
The war charger pawed the earth, tossing his head, and preparing to rush into battle. Legolas would stay on the horse if at all possible. Here he had a height advantage, though they had numbers on him. None of the other Ring Wraiths challenged or interfered. The men watched with bated breath. Even a few Orcs began to gather around, and though they spit at at the men, they did not try to attack, their eyes on the battle before them.
The wraiths advanced, raising their swords above to their faces in preparation for the battle. They were going to punish the insolent elf. Legolas however knew that he could not allow the Wraiths to continue to cause such havoc on the battlefield. He had to take them down, or else the men's strength would fall now that they had appeared. But more than that, Legolas knew that if he could defeat the Ring Wraiths, then the darkness within himself would be no problem. More than anything, it was to prove to himself that he could survive this, and that he would.
The Wraiths shreiked and ran at the elf, and the war horse of Rohan tossed his head, carrying his rider swiftly forward towards the two of them. Both Morgul blades connected with the beautifully ornate blades of the elf, dark night against leaves of white. Their might was largely matched, and Legolas suddenly realized that he was scared. He was very afraid. He didn't want to come face to face with the demons within him. But neither could he back down. And it was this that gave him the courage to slash again.
Sorry for the little bit of a cliff hanger there. This chapter had already gotten pretty long, so I didn't want to make it much longer. In the next chapter we'll see how Legolas fairs against the two Wraiths. Here is where his courage and his strength will really be tested, though it will be tested one final time at the black gates of course.
I have decided that I will definitely make the second story, which will make sense at the end, at least some what. The second story will be a little odd, much more than the first one, though I'm striving to make it make as much sense as possible. So you could not read the second one and have this story be the true ending, or read the other ending which will honestly end up having a bit of a happier ending.
But I've also thought of another idea I could use to create another story. I've found that I like to write for the Lord of the Rings Fandom, so I'll keep on writing for it. I'm working on Nothing New, but inspiration comes slower for that one, so please hang in there. I might honestly scrap that one, unless enough people show me they like it, and I am probably going to start another story. However this one won't end for a while because there will be a few chapters of Legolas after the end of the war, so we won't leave See No Evil for a few more chapters at least.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed and are ready to read more!