Categories > Books > Harry Potter > Harry Potter and the path of the Night Elves
The First Stand of the Night Elves
It was five years later when Harry and Bellatrix set out from Lorien, It had been a short five years, mainly taken up with training and preparations for the attack of Rhun, which he had informed the people about shortly after their arrival.
The News that they would be going to battle went down surprisingly well, everyone understood that they couldn't stay in Lorien forever and that they would eventually need to build a home of their own.
Not a month after their arrival Harry began to see difference in the Soldiers, while some excelled at the bow; others preferred the sword and the up-close method of fighting that it entailed. He was among those who preferred the sword; however he also liked every other way of fighting nearly as much.
And so it was that Harry and Bellatrix decided to split the ranks up into several sections: there were those who were masterful at the bow and also wielded long knives in a dance-like attack when in close quarters, these were under the direct command of Bellatrix as she was the better with a bow between the two of them.
And then there were the spearmen, highly skilled and disciplined soldiers who used spears with frightening devastation, capable of hitting a small target from twenty five metres away, they also carried swords as a back up measure, these were led by the first person Harry had felt deserved the honour of wearing one of the eight special sets of armour, he was named Ehtyarion and had become a great friend to Harry over the years. Strong, loyal and intelligent he was the perfect Captain and friend, one which he knew he could count to watch his back in a battle.
In addition to this there was large group of those skilled in the sword, they also carried large golden shields which were shaped similar to a diamond in 2D form, apart from the fact that they were rounded and portions had been taken out of it to create a well designed, effective and lasting shield, these were under the command of the second person he had seen fit to honour with the Captains armour, she was a strong woman who had, like all Night Elves, black hair and a toned body, she was attractive, he had to give her that, one of the most attractive in fact, however Harry didn't like her like that. Her skill with the sword was monumental; a close rival to Harry who was best among the remaining elves; those were left behind to guard the forest borders. She was also a close friend and valid confident when he couldn't speak of a matter to anyone else.
And then lastly there was the unit which Harry trained with day in day out, they were the best because of this and that was exactly what he wanted: a unit which ran well even if the chain of command was broken, a unit of loyal, skilled and friendly elves which he could count on in any battle. It was these elves which made the final part of the army; they were trained in all weapons as they had no exact preference, most however favoured one weapon slightly more, like Harry and his Sword.
Harry himself preferred a total combination of weapons, he liked to be versatile in battle and able to respond to any situation he found himself in. His sword stayed faithful and he dedicated the majority of his time learning its ways, he complemented this with a confident archery ability and keen shot with the spear, he was no way near to be a Master but he was gaining on his goal as each day passed.
Bellatrix spent most of her time training with her large unit at the bow.
She was by far the best in the army with it and approached her training as often and in as much vigour as Harry. The unit which she commanded was by far the largest, making about thirty thousand in total, with each section of five thousand run by a lesser leader which would be under her direct command, she used this system because there was no way she could keep track of all of her troops at once.
Those who didn't take to fighting followed other pursuits while they stayed in Lorien, such as weapon crafting, where men and women alike would learn from the Master smiths in the nearby kingdom of Khazad dum.
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And so it came to be, that a host of forty thousand trained Night Elves set out from the borders of Lorien, they left heading to the East at great speed, using scouts to make safe areas before they moved into them. Harry rode upon a great horse Authion which had been given to him as a last gift from the Lady Galadriel, in fact all of his men, some five thousand elite men under his command, were currently mounted upon great steeds, great beasts bred for war by the kind hands of the elves.
Harry's horse alone though stood taller than all the rest, pitch black as a sharp contrast to the other white ones which were being ridden.
The party made fast progress along the shores of the river Anduin, which if followed completely would lead through the city of Osgilliath, the Capital of the Great realm of Gondor. This was not to be however, for before they came to the City, they turned off to the North and headed at a direct course, passed the wooded land of the Golden Wood and onto the borders of Rhun. It was here that they set up camp, a couple of miles from their final destination.
While the camp was set up Harry led a party of one hundred horsemen out to scout the area and spy upon the strongholds they were soon to attempt to siege.
Riding hard the small group came close a large mountain range with a name which they were oblivious to.
"Spread out and search the area for ten miles round here, I want the sea of Rhun and the forest that backs onto it scouted fully, no inch is to remain unseen and unchecked, report back to me before the Night is out, dismissed" with that Harry signalled for five to come with him before turning and galloping off into the slowly darkening night.
The base they were looking for was found easily by the six of them, keeping to the shadows they flocked across the flat plains for half the Night, noting the positions and defences of the entire stronghold in the area, sometimes he would meet up with other small groups which were tirelessly following his orders, but other than that they remained alone until, with writings and maps marked with intricate detail, they retired back to the camp to plan for the attack at Sunrise.
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Sitting back in his tent Harry, Bellatrix, Ehtyarion and Tuarwen, the woman who captained his swordsmen, pondered over how they were to attack the following day.
"Their defences are strong, they have various catapults and sentries posted on the walls of some of the fortresses but less on others, those which hold the most will be the bases with the most protections" Bellatrix commented softly. Nodding Harry frowned, a sign that he was concentrating.
"There are four separate strongholds correct?" they all gave a nod of their heads. "We didn't prepare to assault four strongholds, we have little options left open to us" he lapsed into a thoughtful silence for several minutes before a smile began to form at the corners of his mouth.
"We draw them out" everyone kept their gaze fixed upon him, waiting for him to reveal the plan to them. "How would we fare if we fought over an open plane?" Bella got an evil smirk on her face.
"We outnumber them and no doubt are better trained and organised than they are, we would definitely win with relative ease" answered Tuarwen with a smile.
"And so instead of breaking ourselves on their walls, we draw them out and fight them on our terms, which just leaves the question of how we can draw them out effectively" said Ehtyarion.
Harry nodded slowly, clearly in thought. It was over five minutes later when he spoke once more.
"We could attack one of the lesser defended settlements but make sure to let one of them escape so he can warn others, hopefully they will take the bait and attack us which is when we will act, I want a party of several thousand soldiers to attack silently from the rear while we fight off the main force from the front, Bella I want you to lead them, make sure that your first target is the central fortress as that will tip the balance in our favour" Bellatrix nodded but kept silent " Take with you soldiers from your own unit along with five hundred of mine, use stealth for as long as you can before they notice you and if then you are discovered use force to gain control of the fortress as quickly as possible, we need to be fast and clean, there is no room for mistakes, that is all dismissed" Harry ordered.
Everyone moved their chairs back and began to exit the room, when they were a metre from the door of the tent he called over to them.
"Oh and Bella"
"Yes?" she inquired.
"Good luck" she smiled and swept from the room in a whirl of midnight black robes.
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At Day break the next morning the attack began. Over thirty thousand elvish archers's surrounded one of the lesser strongholds, and for half an hour proceeded to rain arrows down upon the fortress, after that the real attack began.
"Ladders!" shouted Harry. Hundreds of soldiers raised ladders along the walls and began to spring up them with innate elven grace.
They met no resistance as they did this and secured the walls in a couple of minutes. It was then that a roar came from the buildings inside the walls, and out of them poured hundreds and hundreds of troops, evil men, orcs and wildmen of the east cascaded forth with the intention of death and glory fixed firmly in their eyes. Harry's troops opened fire upon the enemy, who never really stood a chance, hundreds were flattened in the first several seconds of the bombardment and those who remained fled back into the temporary shelter of their other mountain dwellings.
Releasing his bow one last time Harry quickly set about ordering the demolition of the small city, none would use this city again for evil purposes.
"Burn it to the ground, I want the people back in Arnor to see the fires of our victory burn, let them see what we will grow to be" and with that he descended the ladder he had climbed minutes before and headed back to camp to prepare for the inevitable conflict which was soon to come.
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Meanwhile in a small room overlooking a wide landscape, a table of important Lords, both elven and Man, sat around a table discussing the war and a way they could work together to create a stronger resistance.
"All I'm saying is that if we combine our forces and march on the black Gate then we may have a chance of Victory, if not then I don't know how much longer we can last, years decades centuries, it doesn't matter how long it is, for we will inevitably loose if we don't act soon!" Said a broad shouldered man, he appeared to be young but you never could tell with men these days.
"We do not have the strength to accomplish such a feat, perhaps in a hundred years but not now, we need time to prepare for a siege of that size, time which we don't have, our efforts are already full with the war abroad, we cannot reserve any of our forces or we may run the risk of loosing vital positions the other side of Khazad Dum and the Misty Mountains" replied Gil-Galad, he was about to speak once again when he looked to the east and spotted a very faint burning fire to the east, he smiled and leant back in his chair, seemingly content.
"What is it King Gil-Galad?" asked another elf who hadn't spotted the fire. He smiled and nodded his head out of the widow.
"Look to the East" everyone in the room turned in the direction he had said and grew confused at the small flaming light which was obviously a great distance away.
"What is it my King?" asked the same elf.
"It is a sign that the siege of Rhun has began, Lord Tiltothel" he said calmly. There was muttering from around the room at this news.
"It'll be over in a day, I really do pity those who had no option than to go along with their Lords foolish venture, he is too eager to jump into battle, a little too much for the role of a King, in a way I feel sorry for him" stated a Lord of Men calmly.
"I would not be too quick to judge a book by merely its cover, I believe those flames were set as a first sign to us that the Night elves are indeed in the control over one of the strongholds in the area of Rhun, it won't be long before the main siege begins, I just hope that they are up to the challenge" Gil-Galad lapsed into silence as did the rest of the room.
"They will be broken within a week, the structures there are strongly built into the mountainside and hard to attack, there is no way they will emerge victorious" said a smaller man who was in no way small but looked it by comparison.
"Do not underestimate their leader young Lord for it may prove to be a great mistake in your time of need, should it ever come" the man laughed and wiped a tear from his eye.
"Come now, how could he possibly help us when he will be dead within the week, I don't doubt his dedication to his people but they have rushed off to battle prematurely" said the small man.
"We will see Young Lord, we will see"
The council returned to more pressing issues.
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A lone man, dressed in dirty clothes which were frayed in various places, stumbled in through the gates of a large city. People nearby came to his aid, however before they could help he spoke several soft words.
"Send aid, the western fortress has been attacked, elves, lots of them, kill them all" and wit that the vile mans spirit left his body, never to return to this plane of existence.
All around him however there were harsh cries of anger and fury. Men and Orc alike began to arm themselves in ill-fashioned armour and badly crafted swords.
"Assemble the army, Kill them all!" shouted a large man, he wielded a large scimitar-like sword and wore a huge helmet to signify his rank as the leader.
"What of the city?" asked a small Goblin in a wicked voice. The large man turned his evil gaze to the small Orc.
"Leave ten thousand to defend the city if it's attacked, the rest of ye can follow me" he ran forward toward the gate of the city, sword raised and death in his eyes, behind him small groups of soldiers joined the main stream which was running out of the city, they all had one thing in common. The desire to kill some elf.
A lone rider, graceful and fair rushed forth from near the city; he had to warn his Lord that the attack was soon to arrive.
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Harry looked up as a rider on a powerful white horse made its way towards his position at the head of a vast host of warriors; they stood resolute and unwavering in the chilled Night air as they waited for what could be their death to claim them. As the rider drew up to him the man atop the horse jumped gracefully down and stood to attention, in full armour at his side.
"My Lord a host advances, twenty thousand or more are to be here very soon, ten thousand have remained inside the city if it needs to be defended" Harry nodded but didn't remove his gaze from the mountainside he knew the great fortress was hidden behind, it was perhaps five thousand metres from his position, which if he guessed correctly gave his remaining archers, some twenty five thousand of them, plenty of room to strike before the enemy was upon them. Turning his horse back to face his units he let out a grim smile.
"Archers, line up in three rows of equal length, do not fire until I give the signal!" he called out. Immediately the majority of his troops re-arranged themselves as per his instructions dictated. "Lancers take positions in front of the archers, riders follow me!" his instructions were carried out perfectly and not too late, for at that moment the sound of drums reached his enhanced hearing and that of those around him.
Galloping over to a standard carrier he took the standard from him and rode over to the far right of the army. His man followed him.
"Wait here until I give my signal, you will know when you see it for it will be clear, if you don't for any reason see it, charge upon their archers, you will be effective against them in these conditions"
nodding his head in confirmation one of his troops quickly spread his word, he however didn't hear this as he was looking over in the direction of the mountains once more, there at the bottom, visibly only slightly, came a rider, clothed in black and upon a steed of pure black. Harry could sense the evil from even his position several thousand metres away, this was no man, or even Orc for that matter.
This was a Nazgul, a ringwraith, one of the greatest of the beings which served the Dark Lord Sauron; only one thought came to Harry's mind at that moment. Oh shit!
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Bellatrix and a host of five thousand elves made their way at great speed to the main stronghold in the mountain chain. All was to plan so far, they had remained undetected and had succeeded in breaching the first set of perimeter defences., they had been weak with about fifty cruel men on guard duty at the time, it was over before it really started.
Ducking down Bellatrix made a magical sweep of the area, which enabled her to identify anyone, nearby who was a threat to her, expecting their to be nothing, she was surprised to find seven powerful presences near her current location. This was bad, Bellatrix new what these beings were, they were Nazgul, the most powerful enemies, aside from the Dark Lord himself, on the side of darkness, she also felt a large amount of evil emanating from them, this only clarified her guess.
"Go in silent and fast, I don't want us to be found for at least half an hour, in which time I want half the bastards in there to be dead, archers don't bombard just pick off your targets and never fire near to where another enemy can see them fall, Riders I want you to come in as a back up in case the battle goes ill, I'll give you my signal if that transpires, gear up elves, this is it, good luck, may the Valar protect you all" and with that she drew her bow off her back and swiftly made her way into the city, unknown to her a single figure stood watching their entrance from a high tower to their west, turning he let his black cloak whirl around him, and in a deep and powerful whisper he spoke to a creature near the door.
"Prepare for combat, bring the witch to me, alive or dead, I have no preference" and with that he proceeded to gaze out upon the almost pitch black night.
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Harry rode back and forth in front of his troops, they were nervous of the army arrayed before them ,he could sense their fear, however whenever he rode passed their heads would lift and fire would burn in their eyes, this was the reason for his current activity.
They were outnumbered for sure; this was not what was supposed to happen, instead of facing a host of about thirty thousand there was at least seventy thousand enemies here to challenge them for the land they so desperately wanted.
It was then that the black rider rode forward from the enemy host; he stopped in the centre of the gap between the two forces and waited. Figuring he was doing the right thing Harry pulled his great horse round and rode fast over to the centre of the field. As he got closer he could see the cruel helmet which the Nazgul wore and the armoured gauntlets which lay upon his hands, he carried a huge sword which glinted maliciously in the moonlight and resting on the floor, on a chain which was in his evil hand, there was a large spiked mace, a weapon of death. This was indeed a great opponent.
"Who are you who deems himself mighty enough to converse with me, Lord of the Nazgul and bringer of death, speak elfling, before I grow tired and end your life" Harry turned his gaze upon the Witch King, it was hard and in no way represented the boy he was a few years ago.
"Depart from these lands and my kin will bother you no more, I come for the land not the glory or the honour, fight and you will die here today I swear it, by my hand or that of one of my soldiers, you won't leave this field alive" the Nazgul shrieked a vile scream and his horse reared up onto two legs.
"You will be begging for death before the day is out fool" spat the evil being, and with that he turned and swept back towards his ranks, which started to move forward at a fast pace a second later.
Riding hard to his men Harry rode along the forefront of the lines screaming orders to the generals before the attack hit. Seeing fear in their eyes at the advance, Harry rode up the line and raised his sword.
"Hold, Hold, Night Elves hearken to me, hear my call!" he shouted, eyes burning with raw passion "Today is the day when we make our stand, let this be the day which we look back on and say, I stood I fought and I won, this is to be the day when the race of the Night Elves will stand triumphant above the evil who dares to challenge our might, let this be the day when the dark Lord in his home of metal and stone, trembles from head to tow at the fury of our fight, Let this be the our that we become one!"
Cheers erupted from the ranks and faces set in stone, never to be broken by fear while the day lasted.
"Bows!" he called out to the archers. Bows were pulled out in an instant, and arrows were fitted to their strings. When the enemies' line was fifty metres away he gave the order. "Fire!" he yelled.
Immediately the sky turned black with a hailstorm of arrows which landed seconds later killing thousands of the enemy, but they still came, just as strong as before. "Fire at will!" he yelled and then whistled clear and loud into the night air, the sound was heard by all those for miles around, this was the sign the riders had been waiting for, with a cry they sprang forth, riding on the wing of angels they rode at the enemy, bows singing in the air, swords glinting threateningly as they caught ambient rays of moonlight.
"Swords! Swords! Show no mercy, Spears! Show them the meaning of loss" and with that final call the enemy hit the front lines of his army, many were felled in the initial attack but many lived on to fight again. Swords whipped through the air as his faithful soldiers met the enemy in a dance of death and destruction, he hoped Bellatrix was fairing as good as they were.
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Bella dived to the side as an arrow made its way passed her head. They had remained hidden for not nearly as long as she had hoped, it seemed they had been trapped, over fifteen thousand men, Orcs and even several trolls had lain in wait for her at the gated to the citadel. From there they had fought well, many thousands of the enemy had been slain already, however many hundred of her kin also lay dead, never to rise again.
Slashing through the torso of one Orc she ducked under the sweeping blade of another before lobbing off his head, blood sprayed on her and she grimaced as some entered passed her lips. So far she had avoided the use of Magic, for she knew it was rare in Middle Earth to possess such power, however the time was getting nearer and nearer at hand, her staff, which was up until now used solely as a melee weapon, itched to be unleashed upon the pitiful soldiers which the enemy used.
Returning to the fight she lobbed off several more heads of both Orc and man before her restraint crumbled away. Lifting her staff high above her head a beam of pure white burst forth, the enemy looked upon her countenance in fear as they started to run from the ray of death which had already felled thirty of their number. Bellatrix gave a cruel smile, now that was much better.
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Harry moved in and out of the enemy lobbing off heads and slitting throats in great numbers, over fifty of them had already fallen to his blade and he wasn't planning to stop soon.
By his side he could see his friend Ehtyarion fighting against multiple opponents and winning. The two had stayed together throughout the battle so far, they made a good team as they could trust each other till the death. Turning away for a second to fight a large man in heavy armour, he swept a dagger across his throat which ended the man's life several seconds later.
It was then that he heard it, as clear as a bell on a summers morn, he turned and there, at the feet of the Witch King lay the shaking body of his best friend, he looked upon his dying visage and a lone tear fell from his eye, this lasted for only a moment for when he looked up am intense fire burned visibly in his eyes. Harry glared at the form of the chief Nazgul as he placed his armoured foot harshly onto the neck of his friend, there was a crack as his windpipe was split, and then silence. They stared at each other for several seconds, unaware of the battle raging around them as they did so.
Harry rushed forth, fury and hate etched firmly upon his face, he swung in a deadly ark, and at the same time his blade set alight, the blade became surrounded by a wall of fire which burned ferociously in the Night air. Dodging the Witch met the next hard stroke with his blade, and the next and the next. The blows kept coming, hw as enraged, fuelled by the desire to avenge his great friend of five years, who stood in place of Ron and Hermione in this world. He met blades with his deadly foe hundreds of times until, when his anger finally exploded he held up his hand in a gesture which seemed to confuse even him.
Lightning arched across the sky and struck the Witch King full on. The Nazgul stumbled and then sank to his knees in a scream-filled anguish which couldn't be stopped or helped; there he knelt until Harry drew his blade across his head in one powerful stroke, effectively sending his life force from his body.
Around him cheers rang out as the great leader was slain and his elves attacked with a new energy which went well beyond any type of food or rest.
Thousands more of the vile creatures fell to the might of the elves, only when they were all slain did they stop the slaughter and by then the Sun was once more rising to signify the dawn of a new day.
It was five years later when Harry and Bellatrix set out from Lorien, It had been a short five years, mainly taken up with training and preparations for the attack of Rhun, which he had informed the people about shortly after their arrival.
The News that they would be going to battle went down surprisingly well, everyone understood that they couldn't stay in Lorien forever and that they would eventually need to build a home of their own.
Not a month after their arrival Harry began to see difference in the Soldiers, while some excelled at the bow; others preferred the sword and the up-close method of fighting that it entailed. He was among those who preferred the sword; however he also liked every other way of fighting nearly as much.
And so it was that Harry and Bellatrix decided to split the ranks up into several sections: there were those who were masterful at the bow and also wielded long knives in a dance-like attack when in close quarters, these were under the direct command of Bellatrix as she was the better with a bow between the two of them.
And then there were the spearmen, highly skilled and disciplined soldiers who used spears with frightening devastation, capable of hitting a small target from twenty five metres away, they also carried swords as a back up measure, these were led by the first person Harry had felt deserved the honour of wearing one of the eight special sets of armour, he was named Ehtyarion and had become a great friend to Harry over the years. Strong, loyal and intelligent he was the perfect Captain and friend, one which he knew he could count to watch his back in a battle.
In addition to this there was large group of those skilled in the sword, they also carried large golden shields which were shaped similar to a diamond in 2D form, apart from the fact that they were rounded and portions had been taken out of it to create a well designed, effective and lasting shield, these were under the command of the second person he had seen fit to honour with the Captains armour, she was a strong woman who had, like all Night Elves, black hair and a toned body, she was attractive, he had to give her that, one of the most attractive in fact, however Harry didn't like her like that. Her skill with the sword was monumental; a close rival to Harry who was best among the remaining elves; those were left behind to guard the forest borders. She was also a close friend and valid confident when he couldn't speak of a matter to anyone else.
And then lastly there was the unit which Harry trained with day in day out, they were the best because of this and that was exactly what he wanted: a unit which ran well even if the chain of command was broken, a unit of loyal, skilled and friendly elves which he could count on in any battle. It was these elves which made the final part of the army; they were trained in all weapons as they had no exact preference, most however favoured one weapon slightly more, like Harry and his Sword.
Harry himself preferred a total combination of weapons, he liked to be versatile in battle and able to respond to any situation he found himself in. His sword stayed faithful and he dedicated the majority of his time learning its ways, he complemented this with a confident archery ability and keen shot with the spear, he was no way near to be a Master but he was gaining on his goal as each day passed.
Bellatrix spent most of her time training with her large unit at the bow.
She was by far the best in the army with it and approached her training as often and in as much vigour as Harry. The unit which she commanded was by far the largest, making about thirty thousand in total, with each section of five thousand run by a lesser leader which would be under her direct command, she used this system because there was no way she could keep track of all of her troops at once.
Those who didn't take to fighting followed other pursuits while they stayed in Lorien, such as weapon crafting, where men and women alike would learn from the Master smiths in the nearby kingdom of Khazad dum.
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And so it came to be, that a host of forty thousand trained Night Elves set out from the borders of Lorien, they left heading to the East at great speed, using scouts to make safe areas before they moved into them. Harry rode upon a great horse Authion which had been given to him as a last gift from the Lady Galadriel, in fact all of his men, some five thousand elite men under his command, were currently mounted upon great steeds, great beasts bred for war by the kind hands of the elves.
Harry's horse alone though stood taller than all the rest, pitch black as a sharp contrast to the other white ones which were being ridden.
The party made fast progress along the shores of the river Anduin, which if followed completely would lead through the city of Osgilliath, the Capital of the Great realm of Gondor. This was not to be however, for before they came to the City, they turned off to the North and headed at a direct course, passed the wooded land of the Golden Wood and onto the borders of Rhun. It was here that they set up camp, a couple of miles from their final destination.
While the camp was set up Harry led a party of one hundred horsemen out to scout the area and spy upon the strongholds they were soon to attempt to siege.
Riding hard the small group came close a large mountain range with a name which they were oblivious to.
"Spread out and search the area for ten miles round here, I want the sea of Rhun and the forest that backs onto it scouted fully, no inch is to remain unseen and unchecked, report back to me before the Night is out, dismissed" with that Harry signalled for five to come with him before turning and galloping off into the slowly darkening night.
The base they were looking for was found easily by the six of them, keeping to the shadows they flocked across the flat plains for half the Night, noting the positions and defences of the entire stronghold in the area, sometimes he would meet up with other small groups which were tirelessly following his orders, but other than that they remained alone until, with writings and maps marked with intricate detail, they retired back to the camp to plan for the attack at Sunrise.
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Sitting back in his tent Harry, Bellatrix, Ehtyarion and Tuarwen, the woman who captained his swordsmen, pondered over how they were to attack the following day.
"Their defences are strong, they have various catapults and sentries posted on the walls of some of the fortresses but less on others, those which hold the most will be the bases with the most protections" Bellatrix commented softly. Nodding Harry frowned, a sign that he was concentrating.
"There are four separate strongholds correct?" they all gave a nod of their heads. "We didn't prepare to assault four strongholds, we have little options left open to us" he lapsed into a thoughtful silence for several minutes before a smile began to form at the corners of his mouth.
"We draw them out" everyone kept their gaze fixed upon him, waiting for him to reveal the plan to them. "How would we fare if we fought over an open plane?" Bella got an evil smirk on her face.
"We outnumber them and no doubt are better trained and organised than they are, we would definitely win with relative ease" answered Tuarwen with a smile.
"And so instead of breaking ourselves on their walls, we draw them out and fight them on our terms, which just leaves the question of how we can draw them out effectively" said Ehtyarion.
Harry nodded slowly, clearly in thought. It was over five minutes later when he spoke once more.
"We could attack one of the lesser defended settlements but make sure to let one of them escape so he can warn others, hopefully they will take the bait and attack us which is when we will act, I want a party of several thousand soldiers to attack silently from the rear while we fight off the main force from the front, Bella I want you to lead them, make sure that your first target is the central fortress as that will tip the balance in our favour" Bellatrix nodded but kept silent " Take with you soldiers from your own unit along with five hundred of mine, use stealth for as long as you can before they notice you and if then you are discovered use force to gain control of the fortress as quickly as possible, we need to be fast and clean, there is no room for mistakes, that is all dismissed" Harry ordered.
Everyone moved their chairs back and began to exit the room, when they were a metre from the door of the tent he called over to them.
"Oh and Bella"
"Yes?" she inquired.
"Good luck" she smiled and swept from the room in a whirl of midnight black robes.
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At Day break the next morning the attack began. Over thirty thousand elvish archers's surrounded one of the lesser strongholds, and for half an hour proceeded to rain arrows down upon the fortress, after that the real attack began.
"Ladders!" shouted Harry. Hundreds of soldiers raised ladders along the walls and began to spring up them with innate elven grace.
They met no resistance as they did this and secured the walls in a couple of minutes. It was then that a roar came from the buildings inside the walls, and out of them poured hundreds and hundreds of troops, evil men, orcs and wildmen of the east cascaded forth with the intention of death and glory fixed firmly in their eyes. Harry's troops opened fire upon the enemy, who never really stood a chance, hundreds were flattened in the first several seconds of the bombardment and those who remained fled back into the temporary shelter of their other mountain dwellings.
Releasing his bow one last time Harry quickly set about ordering the demolition of the small city, none would use this city again for evil purposes.
"Burn it to the ground, I want the people back in Arnor to see the fires of our victory burn, let them see what we will grow to be" and with that he descended the ladder he had climbed minutes before and headed back to camp to prepare for the inevitable conflict which was soon to come.
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Meanwhile in a small room overlooking a wide landscape, a table of important Lords, both elven and Man, sat around a table discussing the war and a way they could work together to create a stronger resistance.
"All I'm saying is that if we combine our forces and march on the black Gate then we may have a chance of Victory, if not then I don't know how much longer we can last, years decades centuries, it doesn't matter how long it is, for we will inevitably loose if we don't act soon!" Said a broad shouldered man, he appeared to be young but you never could tell with men these days.
"We do not have the strength to accomplish such a feat, perhaps in a hundred years but not now, we need time to prepare for a siege of that size, time which we don't have, our efforts are already full with the war abroad, we cannot reserve any of our forces or we may run the risk of loosing vital positions the other side of Khazad Dum and the Misty Mountains" replied Gil-Galad, he was about to speak once again when he looked to the east and spotted a very faint burning fire to the east, he smiled and leant back in his chair, seemingly content.
"What is it King Gil-Galad?" asked another elf who hadn't spotted the fire. He smiled and nodded his head out of the widow.
"Look to the East" everyone in the room turned in the direction he had said and grew confused at the small flaming light which was obviously a great distance away.
"What is it my King?" asked the same elf.
"It is a sign that the siege of Rhun has began, Lord Tiltothel" he said calmly. There was muttering from around the room at this news.
"It'll be over in a day, I really do pity those who had no option than to go along with their Lords foolish venture, he is too eager to jump into battle, a little too much for the role of a King, in a way I feel sorry for him" stated a Lord of Men calmly.
"I would not be too quick to judge a book by merely its cover, I believe those flames were set as a first sign to us that the Night elves are indeed in the control over one of the strongholds in the area of Rhun, it won't be long before the main siege begins, I just hope that they are up to the challenge" Gil-Galad lapsed into silence as did the rest of the room.
"They will be broken within a week, the structures there are strongly built into the mountainside and hard to attack, there is no way they will emerge victorious" said a smaller man who was in no way small but looked it by comparison.
"Do not underestimate their leader young Lord for it may prove to be a great mistake in your time of need, should it ever come" the man laughed and wiped a tear from his eye.
"Come now, how could he possibly help us when he will be dead within the week, I don't doubt his dedication to his people but they have rushed off to battle prematurely" said the small man.
"We will see Young Lord, we will see"
The council returned to more pressing issues.
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A lone man, dressed in dirty clothes which were frayed in various places, stumbled in through the gates of a large city. People nearby came to his aid, however before they could help he spoke several soft words.
"Send aid, the western fortress has been attacked, elves, lots of them, kill them all" and wit that the vile mans spirit left his body, never to return to this plane of existence.
All around him however there were harsh cries of anger and fury. Men and Orc alike began to arm themselves in ill-fashioned armour and badly crafted swords.
"Assemble the army, Kill them all!" shouted a large man, he wielded a large scimitar-like sword and wore a huge helmet to signify his rank as the leader.
"What of the city?" asked a small Goblin in a wicked voice. The large man turned his evil gaze to the small Orc.
"Leave ten thousand to defend the city if it's attacked, the rest of ye can follow me" he ran forward toward the gate of the city, sword raised and death in his eyes, behind him small groups of soldiers joined the main stream which was running out of the city, they all had one thing in common. The desire to kill some elf.
A lone rider, graceful and fair rushed forth from near the city; he had to warn his Lord that the attack was soon to arrive.
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Harry looked up as a rider on a powerful white horse made its way towards his position at the head of a vast host of warriors; they stood resolute and unwavering in the chilled Night air as they waited for what could be their death to claim them. As the rider drew up to him the man atop the horse jumped gracefully down and stood to attention, in full armour at his side.
"My Lord a host advances, twenty thousand or more are to be here very soon, ten thousand have remained inside the city if it needs to be defended" Harry nodded but didn't remove his gaze from the mountainside he knew the great fortress was hidden behind, it was perhaps five thousand metres from his position, which if he guessed correctly gave his remaining archers, some twenty five thousand of them, plenty of room to strike before the enemy was upon them. Turning his horse back to face his units he let out a grim smile.
"Archers, line up in three rows of equal length, do not fire until I give the signal!" he called out. Immediately the majority of his troops re-arranged themselves as per his instructions dictated. "Lancers take positions in front of the archers, riders follow me!" his instructions were carried out perfectly and not too late, for at that moment the sound of drums reached his enhanced hearing and that of those around him.
Galloping over to a standard carrier he took the standard from him and rode over to the far right of the army. His man followed him.
"Wait here until I give my signal, you will know when you see it for it will be clear, if you don't for any reason see it, charge upon their archers, you will be effective against them in these conditions"
nodding his head in confirmation one of his troops quickly spread his word, he however didn't hear this as he was looking over in the direction of the mountains once more, there at the bottom, visibly only slightly, came a rider, clothed in black and upon a steed of pure black. Harry could sense the evil from even his position several thousand metres away, this was no man, or even Orc for that matter.
This was a Nazgul, a ringwraith, one of the greatest of the beings which served the Dark Lord Sauron; only one thought came to Harry's mind at that moment. Oh shit!
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Bellatrix and a host of five thousand elves made their way at great speed to the main stronghold in the mountain chain. All was to plan so far, they had remained undetected and had succeeded in breaching the first set of perimeter defences., they had been weak with about fifty cruel men on guard duty at the time, it was over before it really started.
Ducking down Bellatrix made a magical sweep of the area, which enabled her to identify anyone, nearby who was a threat to her, expecting their to be nothing, she was surprised to find seven powerful presences near her current location. This was bad, Bellatrix new what these beings were, they were Nazgul, the most powerful enemies, aside from the Dark Lord himself, on the side of darkness, she also felt a large amount of evil emanating from them, this only clarified her guess.
"Go in silent and fast, I don't want us to be found for at least half an hour, in which time I want half the bastards in there to be dead, archers don't bombard just pick off your targets and never fire near to where another enemy can see them fall, Riders I want you to come in as a back up in case the battle goes ill, I'll give you my signal if that transpires, gear up elves, this is it, good luck, may the Valar protect you all" and with that she drew her bow off her back and swiftly made her way into the city, unknown to her a single figure stood watching their entrance from a high tower to their west, turning he let his black cloak whirl around him, and in a deep and powerful whisper he spoke to a creature near the door.
"Prepare for combat, bring the witch to me, alive or dead, I have no preference" and with that he proceeded to gaze out upon the almost pitch black night.
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Harry rode back and forth in front of his troops, they were nervous of the army arrayed before them ,he could sense their fear, however whenever he rode passed their heads would lift and fire would burn in their eyes, this was the reason for his current activity.
They were outnumbered for sure; this was not what was supposed to happen, instead of facing a host of about thirty thousand there was at least seventy thousand enemies here to challenge them for the land they so desperately wanted.
It was then that the black rider rode forward from the enemy host; he stopped in the centre of the gap between the two forces and waited. Figuring he was doing the right thing Harry pulled his great horse round and rode fast over to the centre of the field. As he got closer he could see the cruel helmet which the Nazgul wore and the armoured gauntlets which lay upon his hands, he carried a huge sword which glinted maliciously in the moonlight and resting on the floor, on a chain which was in his evil hand, there was a large spiked mace, a weapon of death. This was indeed a great opponent.
"Who are you who deems himself mighty enough to converse with me, Lord of the Nazgul and bringer of death, speak elfling, before I grow tired and end your life" Harry turned his gaze upon the Witch King, it was hard and in no way represented the boy he was a few years ago.
"Depart from these lands and my kin will bother you no more, I come for the land not the glory or the honour, fight and you will die here today I swear it, by my hand or that of one of my soldiers, you won't leave this field alive" the Nazgul shrieked a vile scream and his horse reared up onto two legs.
"You will be begging for death before the day is out fool" spat the evil being, and with that he turned and swept back towards his ranks, which started to move forward at a fast pace a second later.
Riding hard to his men Harry rode along the forefront of the lines screaming orders to the generals before the attack hit. Seeing fear in their eyes at the advance, Harry rode up the line and raised his sword.
"Hold, Hold, Night Elves hearken to me, hear my call!" he shouted, eyes burning with raw passion "Today is the day when we make our stand, let this be the day which we look back on and say, I stood I fought and I won, this is to be the day when the race of the Night Elves will stand triumphant above the evil who dares to challenge our might, let this be the day when the dark Lord in his home of metal and stone, trembles from head to tow at the fury of our fight, Let this be the our that we become one!"
Cheers erupted from the ranks and faces set in stone, never to be broken by fear while the day lasted.
"Bows!" he called out to the archers. Bows were pulled out in an instant, and arrows were fitted to their strings. When the enemies' line was fifty metres away he gave the order. "Fire!" he yelled.
Immediately the sky turned black with a hailstorm of arrows which landed seconds later killing thousands of the enemy, but they still came, just as strong as before. "Fire at will!" he yelled and then whistled clear and loud into the night air, the sound was heard by all those for miles around, this was the sign the riders had been waiting for, with a cry they sprang forth, riding on the wing of angels they rode at the enemy, bows singing in the air, swords glinting threateningly as they caught ambient rays of moonlight.
"Swords! Swords! Show no mercy, Spears! Show them the meaning of loss" and with that final call the enemy hit the front lines of his army, many were felled in the initial attack but many lived on to fight again. Swords whipped through the air as his faithful soldiers met the enemy in a dance of death and destruction, he hoped Bellatrix was fairing as good as they were.
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Bella dived to the side as an arrow made its way passed her head. They had remained hidden for not nearly as long as she had hoped, it seemed they had been trapped, over fifteen thousand men, Orcs and even several trolls had lain in wait for her at the gated to the citadel. From there they had fought well, many thousands of the enemy had been slain already, however many hundred of her kin also lay dead, never to rise again.
Slashing through the torso of one Orc she ducked under the sweeping blade of another before lobbing off his head, blood sprayed on her and she grimaced as some entered passed her lips. So far she had avoided the use of Magic, for she knew it was rare in Middle Earth to possess such power, however the time was getting nearer and nearer at hand, her staff, which was up until now used solely as a melee weapon, itched to be unleashed upon the pitiful soldiers which the enemy used.
Returning to the fight she lobbed off several more heads of both Orc and man before her restraint crumbled away. Lifting her staff high above her head a beam of pure white burst forth, the enemy looked upon her countenance in fear as they started to run from the ray of death which had already felled thirty of their number. Bellatrix gave a cruel smile, now that was much better.
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Harry moved in and out of the enemy lobbing off heads and slitting throats in great numbers, over fifty of them had already fallen to his blade and he wasn't planning to stop soon.
By his side he could see his friend Ehtyarion fighting against multiple opponents and winning. The two had stayed together throughout the battle so far, they made a good team as they could trust each other till the death. Turning away for a second to fight a large man in heavy armour, he swept a dagger across his throat which ended the man's life several seconds later.
It was then that he heard it, as clear as a bell on a summers morn, he turned and there, at the feet of the Witch King lay the shaking body of his best friend, he looked upon his dying visage and a lone tear fell from his eye, this lasted for only a moment for when he looked up am intense fire burned visibly in his eyes. Harry glared at the form of the chief Nazgul as he placed his armoured foot harshly onto the neck of his friend, there was a crack as his windpipe was split, and then silence. They stared at each other for several seconds, unaware of the battle raging around them as they did so.
Harry rushed forth, fury and hate etched firmly upon his face, he swung in a deadly ark, and at the same time his blade set alight, the blade became surrounded by a wall of fire which burned ferociously in the Night air. Dodging the Witch met the next hard stroke with his blade, and the next and the next. The blows kept coming, hw as enraged, fuelled by the desire to avenge his great friend of five years, who stood in place of Ron and Hermione in this world. He met blades with his deadly foe hundreds of times until, when his anger finally exploded he held up his hand in a gesture which seemed to confuse even him.
Lightning arched across the sky and struck the Witch King full on. The Nazgul stumbled and then sank to his knees in a scream-filled anguish which couldn't be stopped or helped; there he knelt until Harry drew his blade across his head in one powerful stroke, effectively sending his life force from his body.
Around him cheers rang out as the great leader was slain and his elves attacked with a new energy which went well beyond any type of food or rest.
Thousands more of the vile creatures fell to the might of the elves, only when they were all slain did they stop the slaughter and by then the Sun was once more rising to signify the dawn of a new day.
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