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━━━━»•» act three. age of anguish

42. breaching the walls «•« ━━━━

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ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ third age ━━ year 3019

𓇻 rohan; helm's deep

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AT FIRST, SHE THOUGHT THE RUMBLING IN THE FAR DISTANCE MIGHT BELONG TO A STORM. But she was robbed of that notion once she caught sight of the countless torches approaching in the darkness. The marching footsteps of Saruman's army seemed to make the very ground shake. A quiver going through the land in anticipation of what awaited them. And soon the land wasn't the only thing trembling...

She clenched her fist around her glaive to stop her hands from shaking. Holding the weapon was like having Gyda stand right next to her instead of on the battlements above. It gave her courage and strength to appear far braver than she felt in that moment.

With Alys by her side, she walked down the stairs leading from the fortress to the rocky earth behind the Deepening Wall. She was thankful that the wall now obscured her view of the approaching army. Here they stood positioned closely to the stairs leading up the fortress in case they needed to move a patient to the infirmary or restock their supplies. At the same time, they were close enough to the battlefield to rush to the aid of the wounded. Fridwyn and four other healers would remain in the infirmary to take care of the wounded brought there.

Haldir had his archers positioned on the wall. While the Rohan archers were positioned in the fortress itself. Just before taking up their position, Elgarain had seen Haldir had brought his brothers along. She wished Orophin and Rúmil good luck and watched them go with a heavy heart. Aragorn, Legolas, Gyda and Gimli were standing on the wall as well. Placed exactly where the fighting would be heaviest. She knew that in order to survive she would have to stop worrying about her loved ones. She had to focus, be vigilant, just like Gyda had told her...But it was impossible not to worry when hearing the heavy foot falls and snarls of their enemy approach.

A white flash lit up the valley, followed by a loud crack of thunder. Her heart jumped a startled beat in her chest, and she held her spear even tighter. The clouds opened and sent a thick curtain of rain falling down upon them. She couldn't help but think her thoughts of a storm had made one appear. Strange how the dread of an approaching battle added a new weight to every thought swirling around within her.

The raindrops falling upon the armor of the waiting soldiers formed an eerie sort of melody. The song of battle was one of thunder, wind and rain and the marching steps of the Uruk-Hai. Then, a new melody was added when a strong and firm voice shouted out in Sindarin: "Dail ú chyn. Ú-danno i failad a thi; an úben tannatha le failad."

She lifted her gaze and watched as Aragorn paced along the wall, instructing the army. She could've sworn she saw several Elves straightening their backs, standing taller as his words filled their hearts with courage. His voice filled her own heart as well, providing a light amidst the gathering dark.

From where she was standing, she couldn't see over the wall, but she didn't need to see anything to know their enemy had come to a standstill. The abrupt halt of marching footsteps sent a shiver down her spine. The silence was heavy as the two armies looked upon each other, staring the doom of one of them in the face.

A commanding snarl echoed through the valley, breaking the silence. The orcs started pounding their weapons upon the ground. The rhythm was overpowering to her sensitive ears.

During one of their lessons, Gyda had taught her a few things about battle tactics. She could picture the Elleth perfectly as she walked back and forth with her hands folded on her back while Elgarain sat behind her desk, taking notes of every word. One thing she could clearly remember writing down was when Gyda told her about a very important part of the battle that wasn't in the clash of sword against sword. If one could frighten their enemy before attacking, weaken their spirit somehow, one could tip the scale into their favor. One of the ways this could be done was through intimidation.

With her sharp eyes she could see the effect of the noise on the soldiers. Especially the men of Rohan who, until this day, had never seen battle before. The thudding of spears, the howling and snarls, all of it was done in order to frighten them. The men of Rohan paled and trembled as the clamor drowned out the courage in their hearts. And while she could rationalize what was happening, Elgarain could feel her own body start to tremble with fear. It took her all of her willpower not to cover her ears.

In a desperate attempt to calm her racing heart, her eyes searched for Aragorn up on the battlements. But he stepped through the ranks of Elves to the very front line and was gone from her sight. So, instead, she closed her eyes and whispered a soft prayer: "Elbereth thand men."

Whether it was the saying of the words, or the actual presence of the Vala protecting them, Elgarain did not know. But she was barely done speaking when a warm glow spread throughout her entire body. Even though the fear still lingered, she felt ready.

Her ears caught the sharp snapping of a bow losing its arrow.

Suddenly the orc army fell silent.

"Dartho!" Aragorn commanded.

Someone had accidently released their arrow too soon. The first drop of blood had been drawn.

A wave of roars and howls rolled through the sky. It was like the beasts had been searching for some sort of reason to be allowed their attack and now found one. As if possessed by madness they charged forward, releasing their fury upon the army of men and elves.

And so, it began.

"Tangado a chadad!" Aragorn shouted, his voice ringing clear above the charging battle fury.

As one, like the branches of a tree all working as a whole, the Elves of Lothlórien took an arrow from their quivers and placed it on the string of their bows. They took aim, arms perfectly steady as they waited and sought their targets.

"Hado i philinn!"

Upon Aragorn's command, the Elves released their arrows. Even above the wind and rain, Elgarain could hear the steel tips piercing the heavy armor and the wounded cries of the Uruk-Hai as they fell. The archers of Rohan followed with another volley from up the walls of the fortress.

Soon enough the archers fired without command, bringing down as much of their enemies as possible before they could reach the walls. Still, there were some who managed to get close enough to release arrows of their own. With a pained cry, several Elves were thrown down the wall, their armor pierced by black arrows.

"Stick close to me," Elgarain told the young woman beside her.

Alys, armed with nothing but a knife, nodded. Her eyes wide with fear and yet her lips were drawn in a thin, determined line.

The two of them ran along the wall to where the first Elves had fallen. One quick look showed her all three were dead. She swallowed hard, struggling for a moment to shield her heart with the emotional distance of a trained healer. Empty eyes stared up the sky, void of the eternal life granted to them by Eru Ilúvatar himself. She whispered a quiet prayer and then moved on to where the next soldier had fallen.

This one was still alive. He sat holding his arm, blood gushing from between his fingers. Elgarain fell down on her knees beside him, already reaching for the bandage in her satchel. The arrow had pierced his armor just beneath his shoulder. Luckily, the tip had only grazed him instead of going through his arm completely. Either the orc who had fired it was incapable of taking aim, or the arrow had ricocheted before striking him.

"I need to get back up there," the Elf grunted between clenched teeth.

"Can you fight with your left arm?" Elgarain questioned while she poured some alcohol over the wound before starting to wrap the bandage around his shoulder with skilled fingers. "Because you will not be able to move this arm." Both the tight bandage and the immense pain he would feel when doing so would see to that.

"Nása, athae."

She finished tying off the bandage and nodded. "Then up you get."

The Elf did not have to be told twice. For a moment he swayed on his feet, dizzy from blood loss, but he was quick to dash back up the stairs to stand with his brothers. Elgarain hated the knowledge that Elves healed far faster than men did, but tonight it would help her decide who to send back into the field and who to send to the infirmary. The orcs far outnumbered them, and they needed every soldier they had to fight. In any other circumstance she would have forbidden him from any sort of activity but, right now, she couldn't afford to do so.

"Pendraith!" Aragorn shouted in warning.

She froze.

"What does that mean?" Alys asked as she stared at the soldiers up on the wall.

"Ladders," Elgarain translated, her stomach turning with dread.

Alys paled and Elgarain took her arm in an encouraging grip. "Don't give in," she said firmly, slightly surprised at her own determination. But it seemed to have its effect upon the young woman. She seemed to grow in size, her shields up and emotions pushed away to a far place within.

"Stay below," Elgarain instructed, "we'd only get in the way if we go up the wall."

The two healers watched as some of the Elves dropped their bows and reached for their swords. Then she saw the Uruk-Hai, with their thick and dark armor, as they climbed upon the wall. The first few were slain by the Elves, but soon enough there were too many to hold back. They managed to break the lines and the chaos of battle followed everywhere they went.

"Athae!" a panicked voice reached her ears above the fighting noise.

Someone was calling for a healer.

She broke into a sprint, trusting her senses to guide her to where she needed to be. Soon, she found two Elves stumbling down the stairs. Well, more like one of the two was carrying the other.

"Put him down," she said.

The Elf listened and carefully placed his friend on the ground, leaning him up against the wall. Blood was gushing from beneath his helmet, and she cursed beneath her breath.

"Alys, you help him," she said, gesturing towards the other Elf. There didn't seem to be much wrong with him, but he was here now. They might as well make sure he was fine.

His friend however, appeared to be in a far worse state.

With gentle hands she removed the helmet. As soon as her eyes fell upon the wound, she knew it was too late. It appeared like some sort of hammer hit him, right against his temple. She held up her fingers and moved them in front of his eyes, but he didn't appear to see her. To make sure she was right, she pinched his cheek. But he didn't respond to the pain.

"What's wrong with him?" his friend asked with a trembling voice.

She turned around, avoiding his teary eyes as she answered. "His fëa has left him. His hröa will soon follow."

"Brain dead," Alys muttered as she stared at the unmoving Elf.

Elgarain hadn't ever considered the human term for the condition, but she supposed it made sense. The belief of separation of body and soul was far less ingrained in human medicine. She reached up and closed his eyes. Then got to her feet, there were wounded soldiers she could still save.

"Is he alright?" she asked Alys, gesturing to the other Elf.

"Two dislocated fingers."

"Set them, or he might not be able to use them ever again."

Alys nodded and got to work.

Elgarain left the elf in her care and moved on to where another soldier had fallen. He was dead, as was the next. The Uruk-Hai fought with a ferocity that left very few survivors. The next one she came across was alive, his stomach slashed wide open. She gave him something for the pain and then moved on, knowing he was beyond saving. She stitched up a gash across someone's jaw and set the broken bones of a leg. The battle faded into the distance as she worked, focused on nothing but steadying her hands and comforting her patients.

She just got to her feet after sending an Elf with a grave head injury when she heard the desperate screams from up the wall. Her eyes searched for Aragorn, watching him point at something happening on the other side of the Deepening Wall. The panic on his face set her heart racing.

Then the world exploded.

A deafening blast, a flash of light and she lost her grip on her surroundings. Her body was thrown backwards by the sheer force of the explosion. She hit the ground and for a moment she couldn't breathe. She tried to gasp for air, but it seemed as if her body had forgotten how. Everything hurt. Something warm trickled down her cheek. With trembling fingers, she reached up. Her right ear was bleeding. Every sound was dull and faraway.

Through the fog clouding her brain a voice screamed for her to get up, but her aching limbs refused to cooperate. She stumbled on her legs, hands aching when they hit the stone floor when she fell once again. Her eyes caught sight of the giant hole in the Deepening Wall and a wave of panic engulfed her. She had never heard of any kind of sorcery that could make fire undo stone. But somehow Saruman had done so and now their one advantage had been taken from them.

The Deepening Stream had been set free by the blow. Water was rising quickly and swept away the first few orcs that tried to break through. But the current soon lessened and then the Uruk-Hai swarmed inside the fortress like ants.

One of the monsters saw her lying there, struggling to get up, and came storming right towards her.

Even her burning fear wasn't enough to get her trembling legs moving. It seemed the blow had damaged her ear, which caused her to lose her balance. She screamed in frustration at her own unwilling body and all the while her enemy kept approaching.

White, blinding pain seared through her head. She clutched her head, whimpering. Vilya burned brightly on her finger and suddenly she was no longer alone in her own body. 

°∴,*⋅✲✦ ( ♕ ) ✦✲⋅*,∴°

𝕬𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑'𝐒 𝕹𝐎𝐓𝐄 . . .

Action scenes are not among my favorites but I hope you guys still enjoyed this chapter! Anyone have any guesses as what happened to Elgarain there at the end? ;)

xx Nelly

TRANSLATIONS:

Dail ú chyn. Ú-danno i failad a thi; an úben tannatha le failad ― Show them no mercy, for you shall receive none

Elbereth thand men ― Elbereth protect us

Dartho! ― Hold

Tangado a chadad ― Prepare to fire

Nása, athae ― Yes (it is so), healer

Pendraith ― Ladders

Athae ―Healing/healer

Fëa ― Spirit or soul

Hröa ― Body

NOTES ON LORE:

Fëa & hröa ― Fëa and hröa (fëar and hröar in plural forms) are Quenya words for "soul" (or "spirit") and "body". According to the Elves, the fëa is powerless without the hröa, and likewise the latter would die without the former.

Elbereth ― Varda (or Elbereth in Sindarin) is the Queen of the Valar, the wife of Manwë. Of all the Valar, the Elves revere her most because she created the stars. Calling out her name when in danger is comparable to calling upon a saint or angel for protection.