The Third age draws to a close and the Fourth begins. The world is once again at peace for a time, and the time of men begins.
Thranduil's people, being elves, began to gradually filter from the mortal land of Aman, and he was determined to be there...
"Had this been brought to our attention earlier, the Capital may have been able to put an end to these raids before they began" Another man piped up, sending a deliberate glare in the direction of Hirgon, who immediately shrank down into his chair, as if to blame him for the slow communication. Mortal men's lack of patience was ever a source of irritation for the Elven-King, and this meeting was certainly no exception to that rule.
"Enough, Damrod. It is no fault of anyone's that communication has been delayed. We are out of practice, the world has been at peace for too long now for us to maintain such quality in our practices" The King scolded, raising a hand to rest lightly on his temple as he took a few moments to think of their next move.
"You say they are in small groups? Our best course of action may be to face them on the road. A force of a few hundred should suffice. They could take the Western trails down through the Lossarnach and cross the river Erui. If your reports are true, the bulk of the groups will be here. That would give us the perfect opportunity to cut their numbers down severely and deter them from carrying out any more attacks."
That brief description was met with murmurs of approval from all the men at the table, and a short nod from the Elven-King. It sounded like it could work perfectly, making sure that their forces do not get too big and beating them back, away from the towns of Gondor. A few hundred men would not be too costly, and it would do them good to get back out of the City for something more than a patrol. On top of that, Thranduil was eager to join too. He had been lacking purpose, struggling to find things to occupy his mind with. Training alone hardly did anything to keep him interested, though it did ensure that his skills in the battlefield had remained impressive. He had his armour and his weapons in his room, why should he not take the opportunity to use them?
"Though the men are easy to acquire and brief on the situation, we are in need of a leader"
Exactly the comment Thranduil had been waiting for.
"-Allow me, King Elessar," he interjected, softly clearing his throat to draw some attention to himself, standing, and raising a hand to rest over his heart, his gaze showing nothing but determination.
",I have not ridden to battle in many years, but I assure you that my skills have not been dulled by the ages. I would be honoured to walk at the head of your men and lead them to victory, even in such a small matter"
He made his case as clearly and concisely as he could, then bowed slightly and returned calmly to his seat as the King smiled fondly at him. It became quickly apparent that his suggestion had been accepted, Elessar standing and nodding in agreement before turning to one of the other men.
"Have a message written up and sent to Pelargir. Tell them that we are dispatching a force of four hundred with an experienced General to lead. Their orc problem will be dealt with come the end of the week. Make sure that they are prepared to accept the force into their gates for rest or to dispatch men of their own to reinforce the capital's. I need the letter to be there as quickly as possible. Send it with one of the messenger eagles"
The order went out quickly, a letter sent to arrive within a few hours, and Thranduil soon found himself at the stables with his two remaining guards, Mírdanion and Neston, all three of them in their armour with weapons on their hips. He had explained what he was doing to the elves and had many wishes of good luck and to stay safe, a few words of caution from his ex-councilman, and a promise to protect him from his guards, who refused to allow him to go and fight without at least one of them. In the end, both of them decided to join the party of men at either side of their King, not willing to part from the one another.
A few words were exchanged between Thranduil and Elessar, the men had the plans explained to them in more detail, and they were ready to leave. Ready to cleanse the Western lands of Gondor of all the orc filth they may encounter on the road, and ready to once again return the kingdom to peace.
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Ennas esse Anui estel
There is always hope
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Chapter two, finished!
It's a rather dialogue-heavy chapter, and I'm sure Thranduil wasn't the only one irritated by mortals and their meetings, but things get a little more interesting from this point onwards~
