18th March, year 3019 of the Third Age, Minas Tirith:
This was it, they all knew it, the soldiers who would leave the White City. The Army of the West that would march together towards the Black Gate and face the armies of Mordor there.
"Good thing that we saved some of that amount of wildfire which Aerys ordered and not used up everything at Helm's Deep. It may not be enough to literally blast that gate out of existence, but it may work as a distraction to get the attention of Sauron and his own armies," Oberyn said after checking with Tyene one last time on how many barrels of wildfire there was still left, both agreeing that not using up all the wildfire had been wise in the longer term.
"One never knows if we could have needed some of it later, and given that it grows stronger with time….as long as Frodo and Sam are not anywhere near the Black Gate, they should be safe if we cast a quick magic spell to protect them both from the sound of the explosion and the force of its range?"
"Should work if we team up in that effort for better reach."
Since no one knew exactly where the two Hobbits were, currently, they could only hope that Frodo and Sam had gotten to Mordor and managed to enter somewhere without getting captured. Perhaps they would be clever in dressing up in the armor of some dead orcs to avoid being spotted as intruders or slaves attempting to escape or being in a place they were meant to not be, but that sort of disguise held the risk of the Hobbits being forced to march against the Black Gate as part of the army and not getting close to Mount Doom as they were hoping.
Of course, there were a number of people who were deeply emotionally affected by this.
"Make sure to come back alive, all of you! You hear that?! All of you! Because I want Elfhilda to grow up surrounded by male relatives that were not lost in this war!"
Éomer was not surprised by his sister using his infant daughter as one of the reasons she wanted him, Boromir and the others to return alive, as Éowyn hugged her brother tightly to the best of her ability with only one functional arm since her shield arm was still broken and held in a sling. After all, even if Éowyn and Faramir were still only betrothed, their families really hoped to see them wed for real and it would be a much more joyful event if as many relatives as possible could be present.
"We will do our best, because I want to meet my first granddaughter too," Imrahil promised, allowing his two sister-sons to hug each other as well. They all knew what could happen, and this was why they were allowing themselves to be more emotional in what could be their last time seeing each other alive.
~X~X~X~X~X~X
Another family who had to face that this could be their final memories of the adult men, was both the branches of the Baratheon family. The youngest members, meaning Aemon, Rhea, Shireen and Elinor, were openly crying and either pleading or almost screaming at their fathers to not leave, while Lyonel and Argella tried to force themselves to remain calm.
"Why?! Why do you both have to go?!"
"This Dark Lord could pose a threat to Westeros as well, if he wins in this world. As the King, it is my duty to protect my realm and people," Robert responded in a grave voice, showing just how far he had came from the early days of his kingship when he had focused more on mourning his idealized image of Lyanna Stark and not paying proper attention to the children he did actually have with Cersei.
"As the brother of the King, I am needed as a shield to his war hammer. As a possible regent for you as an underage king, Lyonel, it is my duty to ensure that you all are safe."
Stannis, as usual, was blunt and spoke the plain truth. Not that the royal children expected anything else from their uncle. It would be very out of character for Stannis if he did not act as his usual self, and to be honest, it would have been a sign of alarm for the royal siblings and his own daughters if Stannis suddenly changed his behavior from how they knew him.
"But…mother and our sibling…!" Shireen tried to plead with her father, trying hard to not start trying because she knew from before that he risked getting even more uncomfortable at seeing her tears, but quit when realizing that he would not change his mind.
"This is what Kingship means. To place the needs of many above your own and a strong King needs to show that he can take on threats. A weak King who does little or nothing at all, will not be remembered as a good king. Think of Aerys and Rhaegar Targaryen as an example of how a dynasty can be destroyed by itself."
Robert almost spat out the names, showing that he still hated the Targaryens to a degree, but tried to focus on the two men who had been causing the main reasons for the rebellion, rather than the miserable queen Rhaella and her last two children who was living in exile somewhere in Essos in this very moment, as well Elia Martell and her two children by Rhaegar.
"As if anyone would call them a good example of a ruling King and Crown Prince! They should be a lesson about what happens when royals think of themselves above the laws and customs of the realm they are ruling over! What none of us should aim to become!"
The sharp tongue of Argella made Robert smile faintly. Ever since he had started to play more attention to his children and spending more time with them instead of wasting his time on alcohol and women like before Tommen was born, he had began to wonder in private that both the Old Gods and the Seven-who-is-One had secretly blessed his children to be a clear contrast to the Targaryen family. Yes, they could show their Lannister blood at times, just like their Baratheon side, but they were sometimes just so clever for their ages and handled their royal duties without any protests that Robert honestly got a weird feeling of that this might not be the first time his children was born into that sort of life.
Not to mention the reveal that they and the two daughters of Stannis had been born with magical powers…
But this was not the right time to think of those more odd details about the next generation in House Baratheon, there was a new fight that he had to join, because as Oberyn Martell and many others had told Robert, if Sauron won here in Middle-earth and no one managed to close the portals between the two worlds, Westeros would be the first continent on Planetos to face this other-worldly Dark Lord and fall for his armies of wicked beings.
"I trust you to lead Westeros in a wise way, Lyonel, should I not return because I know you to be a good lad but not too naive about the world. Argella, you will be able to charm the North yet also remind them that you are a daughter of the Stormlands. Elinor, you are a clever girl with both feet firmly grounded, so I know that you will not be swept away by sweet words that prove to be false or dangerous for yourself or others around you. Aemon, you are still very young and will always have that sickly health to battle, but you can still prove to be just as dangerous as your siblings in a different form."
He knew the risk that this was the last time he saw his children, so he wanted them to have something meaningful to remember among the possible grief to come. Still, as he turned around to face Mya, Eric and Gentry, he was not quite sure what to tell them because he had been very absent from Mya's and Eric's lives for various reasons outside their birth origins that made them less important than their trueborn half-siblings and he hadn't even been aware of Gendry until quite recently.
"Father," Eric spoke up, "We have already agreed to try and help our trueborn relatives in different ways. Even if it is just to act as their hidden eyes and ears among the commoners and snatch up whispers of something that could grow into something needed to be dealt with."
Despite being a woman, Mya had her eye on becoming a gamekeeper at Storm End because she preferred the outdoors over the rather limited professions like being a household servant that she could get as a female bastard, Eric knew that he could do well as a knight because he had skills and Gendry had already spoken of becoming a blacksmith in White Harbour or somewhere else in the North where him being a royal bastard would be less likely to become widely known.
"That would put me at ease, knowing that you will look after each other."
Brienne caught some attention when she knelt in front of the King and held up her sword to him:
"I swear in the names of the Seven-who-are-One to give my life if needed to protect all of your children from danger, King Robert and Lord Stannis. "
This simple oath seemed to calm both the older men, and Sandor promised the royal children to try and keep the King safe in battle while Brienne stayed with them here in the White City.
But once the three men had left the chamber, all the eyes of the children and Brienne changed to amber as a sign of their past lives taking over. Turning their glares towards Mordor, they could all sense the threat of death that was coming from the Dark Lord even now, despite him being in that shape of a giant eye.
"We need to distract him and the Ringwraiths from elder sister Mana. Her magical power has grown to almost match Father at the same age, with different abilities, and if she somehow gets ensnared by the darkness inside that cursed ring which Father got… "
How could they not sense how Rhaenys just had freed the souls of their past-life mothers and those other half-siblings whose souls had never managed to follow after Mana through the portal to Dorne between the two worlds before it was closed?
~X~X~X~X~X~X
It had cost her much magical strength and energy to paint all the drawings, yet Rhaenys smiled in joy and pride when seeing the broken remains of the glass orbs in front of her on the ground, the spear of Mana laying next to her hand where she had dropped it when almost kneeling from fatigue. With all the trapped souls now freed and hopefully able to answer the call of Mandos to begin their journey on the unknown Path of Men, Sauron no longer could use them against Khamûl if the former Farao of Kemet tried to get free from being a Ringwraith after all those years.
"This confirms…that Sauron is not so different from the mortal races despite being an immortal Maia once serving the Valar. That his arrogance causes him to underestimate the power of his enemies…and making mistakes that messes up with his original plans."
She knew that she was on the path to become another target of Sauron, should he ever realize what she just had proven herself able to do, but if it could help to distract his attention from both the two Hobbits on their way to Mordor to destroy the One Ring and the Army of the West…
"Rhaenys?!"
The voice of aunt Mellario, as she discovered the amount of drawings around Rhaenys, who used a pillar to keep herself standing up and realized what the young woman had done to make herself look ready to faint on her fleet.
"Rhaenys, what in the name of….no, forget that, you seriously need to REST when you look like this! No more magic-using today!"
The older daughter of Elia honestly would not have protested even if she had more energy for it. Being drained like this had been a serious cost for her quite unlikely success in freeing the captured souls and also trying to avoid the attention of Sauron at the same time.
"...yes….aunt…"
And then Rhaenys did faint for real, causing Mellario to scream for the nearest servants to help her carry the younger woman back indoors to her usual chambers which Rhaenys normally used whatever she visited Sunspear with her family and to get one of the Rhoynar healers to the Old Palace as quickly as possible.
"Do not just stand there like a set of stone statues, we need to tell Elia and Théodred about this as well!"
Normally Rhaenys did not do magic in this huge amount behind the backs of her parents, it really was not her style or personality, so Mellario really hoped that her sister-in-law and the King of Rohan was not unaware of what Rhaenys had done. The Martell family needed to stay together in those difficult times, not fall apart from the inside due to their individual actions.
~X~X~X~X~X~X
Faramir stood beside Éowyn at the front of the Court of the Fountain as they watched the army leave though the Great Gate of Minas Tirith, with Aragorn at the lead, the other Kings or similar commanders right behind him.
"I will pray for their safe return. Because…as I said, the mere thought of losing my brother in battle, making Lothíriel become a widow like so many other women already in this war and possibly have to see Elfhilda grow up without a father…."
He nodded, holding her unharmed hand with his own in silent agreement with his fianceé that there had already been enough lives lost in the war since it started last summer.
"I want to see Elfhilda grow up with a number of siblings and cousins, from both sides of her family, as well."
Still holding hands, they returned to the Houses of Healing before people began to worry about them not coming back soon, knowing that there was little else they could do to help now outside Faramir leading the White City again in the absence of his brother as the current Steward of Gondor.
~X~X~X~X~X~X
Author's note: About Robert feeling like his children are showing signs of this not being their first life of being born as royals: In the GOT book Robert is actually quite the charmer and rather observant, like admitting to Ned Stark that he hates being the King but refused to abdicate because of the disaster which Joffrey would be as King and Cersei whispering in the ear of her son. Considering the mess those two made of things after his death in canon, staying was the right thing to do.
Again just a small and quick reminder that Farao is my native Sweden's word for Pharaoh