There was great murmuring at this, and many seemed to favor the king's interpretation, which was then spoken to the chieftains who did not know the Fisherfolk tongue, and soon all were in relative agreement that they should seize Aether's hall from the rear of Vortaig and thus weaken his host and force him to battle. Hours passed and soon the whole host of the Woodsmen had crossed the Gwathlo under cover of darkness, and I gave my boat over to Alfven and the young children of Aecfried to keep while I was on campaign for them.
I was given one of the horses of the Ketherlings with a saddle, because I could ride and because of my bravery. Riding was a rare skill amongst the Fisher Folk, who preferred chariots, and unheard of amongst the Woodsmen. The horse too was no great Elfish Warhorse, nor the stock of the Eotheod, or of Numenor, but a mare of a stout highland breed with thick hair and a short shoulder. I did not know what name the Ketherling who had before ridden her had used, but I thought Hinzil, or She-flower a fine name for a mare, and I was quite glad to have her with all the walking I had done in the Eryn Vorn.
When Dawn came, breaking over the whole of middle earth in its radiance, the army of Aecfried had rested somewhat from the crossing, and I found the sheer light of it somewhat blinding after having spent near two weeks in the shade of the forest. So too did the Woodsmen need time to adjust to the brightness, but haste was of the essence to fall upon Vortaig's capitol before he knew of our coming. It had been unclear in the forest, but the sight of thousands of men marching was truly something to behold, all the more for their colorful tartan and their brightly painted shields, which brought to mind the image of a flowing river of colors stretching down across the hills and dales as we strove to reclaim the throne of Aether's Hall.
And I was at its head, beside Aecfried and the other thanes who could ride, and before us, the Ketherling raiders that had fallen upon the countryside fled, and the men of the Fisher Folk rallied to our cause, Thanes who had run to hiding, and men of the Fyrd who rallies from the farms with little more than pitchforks, but who joined the swelling host as the news of their lord's return spread. Men who did not wish to be ruled by tyrants. They were not great in numbers, perhaps a thousand for we needed to move with great speed to claim Aether's Hall before Vortaig could turn north, but by the time we created the last ridges about the hill-fort, our number was four thousand, Three parts Woodsmen and One of the Fisherfolk.
For the righteous lord had returned to his capitol, and the forces of Vortaig were not long for this world.
________________________________________________________To call Aether's Hall a hill fort would be to call Minas Tirith a Fortress.
It was true in a technical sense, and indeed it had been built for that purpose when Osgiliath was still capitol of Gondor, but it had long since outgrown the scope that such language could describe. This was not some cluster of houses with a keep inside an Earthen Bulwark, it was a towering mound of raised and terraced earth on which a great long-house was set, and beneath it, two wooden walls raised of stacked logs and mounded earth sat in steadfast defense. The Outer Wall sat at the base of the hill and marked the outer boundary of the trade town which surrounded the lord's residence. It was embedded with sharp stakes above a trench at its base, and watchtowers of thick oak sat astride gatehouses on the north and south roads. Further up the slope sat another wall, which seemed older and was made of packed earth fixed between a log frame which held the dirt with pegs. It formed a courtyard around the long-house, with only a single gatehouse. To the South, it looked over the river that the Fisherfolk called the Long-tooth, which flowed north to the Greyflood against the edge of the hills of Enedwaith. The river was too small for the larger vessels of the Numenoreans, but I could see docks built on its banks for the making of the ships of the Fisherfolk.
Certainly compared to Lond Daer it was small, and I thought it likely that Edoras would be twice the size and population. When one was considering assaulting it, it seemed formidable indeed. A wall of wood was as hard to cross as a wall of stone when you lacked proper siege weaponry to batter it down, and its staked frontage put an end to the notion of easily climbing it. So it was decided that a battering ram would be made of a felled oak from one of the few scattered pockets of forest that still grew south of the Gwathlo. Its trunk was chipped away to form a wedge, and pegs were driven into its sides to serve as handles. The Giolla claimed the honor of taking the North Gate with their many spearmen, and they were charged then with the ram.
Atop the ridge which sat on the northern side of the city, the army of Aecfried marshaled, the Fisherfolk were organized into lines and squares by their Thanes, and the Woodsmen formed into hosts by their chieftains. Atop the walls, we could see the Ketherlings and traitor Thanes gather, and the horns and drums began to ring out from the gathered forces in a show of intimidation. The Woodsmen rattled their spears against their shields, and I rode out with Alfred and the other cavalry to make our claims before the gates.
Atop the walls were a mix of men, Fisher Folk and Ketherlings, and I put my eye to the Ketherlings, for I did not doubt that some amongst them were the sort to shoot a messenger, much less a herald. Ahead of the rest, Ecgbert road, with a shield in one hand and the other empty, he hastened before the gates and raised his voice so that all could hear. And the men upon the walls were silent to hear his speaking.
"Behold your Lord Aecfried, returned from exile!" He shouted against the battlements, his voice like unto thunder and rife with anger and command. "He comes now with an army of the righteous to lay low the traitor and reclaim the throne that is his by right! Will you open the gate and receive his generosity? Or will you deny him and prove yourselves nothing more than the dogs of tyrant Vortaig? What say you men of Aether's Hall? Sons of the blood of Enedwaith? What say you now that good men are armed against evil, and the back biter and lie weaver is met with a host of honest spears and righteous steel? Will you continue to defy your rightful lord when it will avail you not? Or will you cast off the whips of tyranny and rise up once more proud and able, to drive out the thief and the murderer?" When Ecgbert's speech was done, he seemed to sag in his saddle, as if he had just undertaken a great task, and the bellowing of his voice had exhausted him, but it was a speech well given, and his voice echoed in my ears as if the demand had been yelled within a great and cavernous place.
Though we had not hoped for it, the words seemed to have a great effect on the Fisherfolk atop the walls, and a great hubbub arose as they began to speak amongst themselves. For Vortaig had taken what Thanes were loyal to him south, and Tostig was only three, not a leader that the Fyrd could turn to. Atop the walls, the men began to question their traitor lord openly, and one man moved to open the gate, a cry going up that Vortaig was not their lord.
The Ketherlings fell upon him for his efforts, and soon there was fighting atop the walls, and spear met ax as Fisherfolk clashed against the savage raiders, until but one man reached the gates and unbarred them, and Aecfried blew upon his hunting horn as the doors swung open before us. His voice roared after his horn sound, and with a furor to match the speech of his brother. "The Cry of Aether's hall does not fall upon deaf ears, let every loyal man be rewarded, but as for the Ketherlings, the savage and the rapine, let us fall upon them like wolves to deer. Let them taste the bite of their own ax and let their blood fill the ditches, let not one survive! Forth Men of Righteousness, for the freedom of the land!" The blood-soaked words left his mouth and I turned to him with worry, but the fury was red in his eyes, as mine had been south of the Gwathlo, and I knew he would not be turned from his course.
A great battle cry went up from the army behind us, and the fyrd of the Fisher Folk charged even ahead of the naked Woodsmen, so great was their fury, and at the head I rode with Aecfried's party, braces in my stirrup as we reached where Ecgbert sat, watching the results of his speech, and further then, as we charged through the gates and into the fortress.
When Aecfried passed the gate a great cry went up from the Fisherfolk upon the walls, and our mounted few rode down what daring Ketherlings had sought to close the gate again. Then the Dunlendings despaired, for we were upon them and amongst them, and their chieftains fled before us. My blade bit their flesh twice more upon the slope, as I fell upon the men that sought to flee for the still closed South gate. My shortsword cut the back of a Ketherling without mail, but only a bears fur for armor, and again into the neck of a man better armored with a lumberman's ax, and the slaughter in the streets of the town was great as the enraged Fyrd fell upon them, and little fighting was left in the lower town for the Woodsmen as the wrath of the Fisherfolk fell upon the cowardly raiders.
At the second wall, the fighting was more fierce, for while there was no true gate, the Ketherlings had formed a shield wall within the doors, and they knew that their death was upon them, and so turned like cornered dogs to make their bite upon us. The clan of the Giolla, denied their earlier glory at the first gate, clashed against the round shields of the Ketherlings with their own painted wicker. In the gap in the wall, the force of the shield walls clashing was great, and the men at the front were nearly driven into the mud.
The Giolla had great vigor, and their red and blue tartan was bright upon the hill, but the Ketherlings were well armored, and they held the high ground, and the fighting was bloody and dark. Again and again, they clashed and battered until the feet of the men had turned the place of their meeting into a morass, and no ground was gained or lost though many men died, and their corpses were trampled beneath the boots and bare ankles of those still alive.
Upon the back of Hinzil, I saw this, and an idea struck me there, I rode to the side of Alfred, and over the din of the shouting, I spoke to him. "Alfred, are there ladders in the town? The Ketherlings do not stand upon the wall, and a few men in the back of their shield wall could put them to slaughter."
The young atheling looked to me from atop his own steed and nodded. "I will have some of the townsmen find them." This he rode off, and I went to rally the Thanes who were like us, sick of watching Woodsmen fight in our stead. This second wall of packed earth was not staked, as the outer ring, and so we were able to put up three ladders, which we climbed to fall upon the back of the Ketherlings. And we did just that, I ascended first upon the northernmost ladder, and set foot upon the Eastern section of the wall, climbing to the height ahead of the rest with Alfred and the Thane Dolharn, who was an Eorling by heritage.
Still, though they were wild, the Ketherlings kept watch upon the walls better than we had thought, and they sent some men from the back of their shield wall to dislodge us, with Tindómë before me I met the path of a great bearded man, who was tall even amongst the Ketherlings, taller than me for once, and he roared with anger as he scaled the steps to the top of the wall.
"I shall have your head, Gondorian!" He roared as he saw me, and he raised his great two-handed ax. I could tell he must be a chieftain of the Dunlendings, for he was not just tall, but also well armored in metal scales, and his helmet was well made with a full coif.
I moved to meet his path. I did not truly wish him dead, for my anger was not as hot as it had been in the battle some nights ago, though my short sword was once again stained by Ketherling's blood. Upon the northern wall we met, and, He brought his ax down towards me with great force, and I raised Tindómë to deflect the blade.
With a great sound like the ringing of a bell his ax struck against the heater and with a screech was flung off to the side, and before he could regain his grip I was upon him with my shortsword, and within his guard, I roared out and stepped forward as I drove my heater into his chest, and in so doing knocked him away from his weapon. Behind and about me men were fighting, but I had only eyes for this savage chieftain as he struggled back and drew out a long and vicious knife from his belt.
His nose was bloodied by my shield, and I did not let him regain his footing as I shoved against him once more, pushing the big man to the edge of the wall so that he could not run, and striking out at him with my blade. Against my expectations, however, he allowed himself to fall back from the wall and only suffered a cut across his already broken nose, landing upon his ankles and giving me a last hateful look before he broke into a run across the town.
The cry went up amongst the men, but he was fleet of foot, and he fled away from a crowd of woodsmen, towards the north gate. I did not have a chance to pursue myself, for behind me on the walls I was forced to turn my attention to lesser Ketherlings, and to the breakthrough which the Giolla now achieved with the Dunlending shield wall broken. Soon the hillfort was little more than a charnel house as we fell upon the remainder and left them fit only for crows. It was bloody work, and terrible, for Aecfried's orders were to leave none alive, and I turned my head from the worst of the slaughter. I did not see the sense in killing men who surrendered willingly, but then it had not been my home burned, nor my sisters assaulted, and the vengeance of the Fisherfolk was brutal.
The boy, Tostig, was spared that fate at least, I went with Alfred and found him, cowering in a storeroom and weeping, abandoned by his handlers, who had fled him. Alfred and I were of one mind that he should not be hurt and we calmed him, and carried him out of the hall untouched for all the bloodshed, to seek Aecfried.
We found the lord down in the lower town, directing the army and preventing looting by the victorious Woodsmen, at our coming he raised his spear. "Alfred, Rhîwonnen, the men speak tales of your valor already!" He smiled grinning brighter and laughing with the mirth of a man restored his seat. Though his eyes soon drifted to the small crying boy upon the back of Hinzil. "And you have brought my nephew also," Aecfried said, now far more wearily.
He rode beside the boy and placed his hand upon the child's shoulder, a suddenly grim frown upon his face. "Have no fear nephew, for I do not blame you for your father's betrayal, you will not be hurt or mistreated in my custody."
A teary nod, though I doubted the child understood his Uncle's words, and the boy was drawn into an embrace by the man who had seized a city to capture him. It was this that eased the fears the slaughter of the Ketherlings had placed in my heart. For Aecfried had spoken in fury and battle, but his character could well be seen here also.
When the blood was washed from the walls of Aether's hall, and the seat of the Lord was placed once more at the head of the table, Aecfried called all the thanes and chieftains to join him in a feast of victory. Alfred was sat at his right hand, and the chieftain of the Giolla, Ian, was at his left, though I myself was placed well towards the front of the table, and there was great feasting in the hall, for the Lord had returned, though his final victory was not yet won.
In the late evening, he granted rings recovered from his treasury to those who fought valiantly, and I was given the due he had promised in my path, though I was told that I would be given all the same again if I fought as valiantly against Vortaig's army as I did upon the walls. I was given three rings of gold, and a fine stallion of tan coat who I named Ûrêthôr for the coloration of his coat. Pharaz would be more appropriate, but I wanted little to do with that blackened name. He was proud and brash, and quite unlike Hinzil. He was too thin to be a destrier, but he was bold and quick, and still stood taller at the shoulder than most horses of the Fisher-Folk. So too was I granted a suit of mail from the treasury, purchased from Rohan. While I knew well that I would outgrow it soon enough, having the armor might still save me from injury in battle.
Soon riders were sent out across the Enedwaith with news of the victory at Aether's Hall, and the Fisherfolk families who had stayed in Lond Daer made their way south aboard the longboat, and it wasn't long before I spotted my own father's boat, it's hull and sail white as marble, arrive upon the docks of the Long-tooth. At the docks, I waited with Aecfried and Alfred and all the Thanes, and Alfven stepped from the vessel I had charged her with, giving me a nod before turning to be embraced by her husband. "You have fought and found victory, my dear!" She smiled as she looked Lord Aecfried in the eye. "Even as we came up the river we saw many people flocking to your banner. Many have lost homes and farms because of the Ketherlings."
"And I will shield them all best I can." The Lord nodded in reassurance towards his wife, before turning to speak softly to her, and I took my leave to see to his vessel and spoke to his children, who had sailed the vessel with their mother. The four seemed in good spirits, and they talked excitedly of their journey with me. The boys asked me how many of the Ketherlings I had slain, and the same of their father. The girls meanwhile seemed to have fallen under the influence of their elders in the camp and I was forced to gently rebuke their childish advances.
Alas, that was not the last such rebuke I had to make upon that Eve, or in the days following as we waited to hear the reaction of Vortaig in the south. I was much the focus of the court, and I was taken aback somewhat at the sudden attention. I did not intend to stay and make myself a Magnate amongst the Fisher Folk, and the temptations offered me battered ever against my will, from the carnal offerings of some of the rather forward maidens at court to the pressing of Alfven, who had evidently not given up the endeavor of seeing me pursue Gondor's throne. She brought forth many arguments, and I found myself ever on the back foot where she was concerned, though I could see that she was not pressing me for the sake of her own greed, so much as the protection of her people, and indeed all of the free peoples.
Still, I took any opportunity to escape the walls of Aether's Hall and ride quickly upon the back of my horses. I had little attachment to the material treasures Aecfried had gifted me, not that I scorned them. They simply paled on comparison to the gifts I had already received, and I would not mind using those gold rings for payment. But the companionship of Hinzil and Ûrêthôr was far and away more cheerful, for they were a young pair, and they were mated in the stables before the news of Vortaig's army reached us.
It was three weeks before the news came and with it the blaring of trumpets and the raising of banners. Vortaig had not surrendered, even at the risk to his son, and he now marched north at the head of his army of traitors and bandits. Had Lord Aecfried been a bloody man, poor Tostig might have lost his head or been blinded by his father's defiance. Though perhaps it was because he knew his cousin's character that Vortaig was so brazen. He left a token force behind to slow down Ardhar and the Fyrd of southern Enedwaith, while he marched north with his own Thanes and Fyrdsmen.
Alongside him came the closest thing the Ketherlings had to a lord. A chieftain of great repute amongst that savage folk, who had been won to Vortaig's side by wicked words and bribery. He was said to be taller than all the Fisher Folk and wore a great helmet of Orcish steel that made him appear as a bull. His name in the tongue of the Ketherlings was Dirch, and men called him the Blood-ax, for he was the greatest of the Ketherlings, and had wrought great violence against the other clans of the Dunlendings before he had been called out by Vortaig to ravage the Fisherfolk. He led the great bulk of their horde, and he had his own court of Ketherling thanes and great warriors that marched beneath his bull standard.
However, whatever hope the army had of moving north with haste, they were stymied by what must have been the hand of Manwë. Late in winter heavy rain and sleet began to fall upon them as they marched, and the open grassy plains and small rivers of the Enedwaith were swollen and flooded, becoming raging torrents and bogs, such that I was even made to take my own father's boat from the docks and up onto the shore. The army of Vortaig was stuck in the muddy lowlands and unable to advance while the country turned against them and the last of the loyal fyrds to their north were able to gather at Aether's Hall. The army now exceeded the size of the town, and encampments sprung up all about the town, and I could not ride through the muddy fields beyond, forced instead to stay at Aecfried's side and do my best to avoid the court.
Finally, though, the clouds split and the cry went up that the army would be put to march. Ax and spear were sharpened and a great part of the Woodsmen host was given steel-tipped spears and arrowheads by the blacksmiths of the Fisherfolk, which the Woodsmen greatly treasured. I was offered from the armory a simple lance myself, to accompany my shortsword, and I painted my mail white so that it matched the color of Tindómë and Feändil, though it was obviously far lesser craft.
Spring flowers grew from the rain-soaked hills as the army gathered and marched forth beneath the recovered trout banners of Aether, the first lord of the Fisherfolk, which Vortaig had discarded for his own standard. Horns and drums, and the sound of seven thousand marching feet accompanied our going. Our host was as great as any that had been seen East of the Isen and South of the Gwathlo since the war between Sauron and the Elves had ravaged the land.
The greater part were spearmen, both Woodsmen and Fisherfolk alike, though they were easy to separate, as the Fisherfolk wore bright gambeson and had smaller shields, while the Woodsmen painted themselves in woad and fought bereft of clothing as was their way. Another large part was archers, and another, skirmishers with javelins. Few were cavalry, and the Ketherlings would likely have more than us, for though the whole north was marshalled to Aecfried's banner only just more than a hundred could ride.
Two months I had served Lord Aecfried, and already I rode as one of his close retainers at the head of this great and terrible army. And we matched with purpose and haste for some four days south to meet Vortaig upon the plains at Puckman's rock. The place was so named for the great standing stone which stood at the center of the plain, raised by the ancestors of the Fisherfolk, or perhaps the Woses of the Drúwaith Iaur to the south.
Whoever had raised it, the stone stood equidistant between the two armies, as if a silent watcher in the battle to come, as each camped themselves upon a ridge and the Hawk standard of Vortaig and the Bull of Dirch Blood-ax were raised opposite the Trout of Aether, and the bright shields of the Woodsmen, and for two days messengers passed back and forth, demands were made and requests denied, spies were caught and harsh words were given, until all knew that battle would be met upon the next noon, and the fate of Enedwaith decided.
A silence fell over both camps at dawn, as the sun began to climb to its prominence, and the wind above the plains died to stillness, for all seemed to have a sense of the coming doom. I felt apprehension at the bloodshed such armies would make, and my heart quaked at the thought that I might again see such massacre as had bloodied Aether's Hall.
In my tent, I took out the still nameless third gift and held its sacred light before me. I prayed to Eru that we would find victory and that by his hand righteousness would prevail. Then I put on my armor, took up my shield and lance, placed my shortsword upon my thigh, and rode out upon the back of Ûrêthôr to join lord Aecfried and the cavalry.
Such was the path before me, and I would not stray.
___________________________________________________Atop the ridge, I sat in the saddle of Ûrêthôr and watched as beneath the noonday sun all shadow faded from the plain and the armies of Aecfried and Vortaig arrayed upon the hills. Seven Thousand stood in the army of righteousness before us, and across the field, some five thousand stood still with their traitor lord, two thousand being the savage Ketherlings. Horns sounded and drums beat as rough lines were formed, and kin were set against each other in the Fyrds of the Fisherfolk. Forests of spears glinted in the light as they repositioned against each other.
The Righteous battle line was thus, the great bulk of the four thousand levies held the center, with more men behind in six companies of two hundred to reinforce their kinsmen should any part of the line falter. On each flank, there were Woodsmen of the clans, who fought in their own parties with skirmishers and spearmen in a mix. Ahead of the line were a large number of Fisherfolk with their bows, and behind it, on the ridge, I sat with Aecfried and the cavalry, there placed to direct the battle and to counter the Ketherlings.
Across the plain, and beyond that great stone which sat at the center of the field, the for was arrayed to meet us in kind, they too had a large number of Levies at their center, though they were all one block, and had none behind. On each flank parties of Ketherlings seemed ready to match the fury of the Woodsmen, and far more dangerously they had formed a mass of cavalry upon the enemy left. The Bull Banner of Dirch Blood-ax was on their right, and the Hawk flag of Vortaig sat behind their lines, just as we did. I almost thought that Aecfried might be matching his gaze across the plain.
For a long moment, all was silent, with no sound but the shifting of men in their place, along with the clattering of those forests of spears. Then beside me, Lord Aecfried raised his horn to his lips and sounded it. It held sway over my heart, and of all the hearts of his army, and with a sound like the rumbling of a waterfall, all the men of his host began to move.
The line advanced across the field in all its forcefulness and haste. As had been discussed in the days before, it anchored itself around the great stone at the center, and the skirmishers went forth to fire upon the enemy shield wall with their bows. Like great flocks of birds, they raced into the air on wingless feathers and fell upon the lines of the traitors. The foe was spurred to action, for Vortaig could not wait for us to exhaust ourselves on the charge when he had so few archers himself.
"Their Cavalry come forth, we shall see them back!" Aecfried shouted with great anger and drew his sword. I turned my gaze and saw his meaning. The Ketherlings riders had broken from their place upon the right flank of the foe, and we're making for the center of the field, and our skirmishers, with all haste. They must have felt the sting of the arrows more than most. Their horses were unarmored and few would willingly wither such fire.
Aecfried spurred us onward and the thanes and riders of the Fisherfolk charged down from our slopes to see off the riders of the Ketherlings, who were even now driving our skirmishers back and falling upon the stragglers with great slaughter. The officers of the line made way for us in the shield wall, and we passed through it and out into the space between the two armies.
Within my chest, my heart pounded, for we rode full gallop and I could feel the clash coming. The Ketherlings turned towards us and I was braced for the joust within my stirrups. I saw amongst the foe the faces of men as scared as I, and others as furious as Aecfried, but they were foes and I could not show great mercy in the clash. I gripped my lance and drove Ûrêthôr onward against one of the great bearded warriors, a man of some stature who had two axes on his sides, and I saw that he, in turn, saw me.
Each braced against the other even as our hosts of horsemen drew closer to that terrible clash, and our eyes were locked as we drove each towards the other, our lances poised to strike the heart.
My own struck first, and it was a great shock, for it threw Ketherling from his horse and snapped the wooden shaft in twain with a terrible sound. I saw in the moment of its impact that it had buried itself within his chest, and his own lance had missed me by a foot at least, not aided by its wielder's death.
That was not the end of it though, for we were merely in the front of our respective cavalry. I was forced to push on with Ûrêthôr through the Ketherlings as all around us there was the sound of sickening blows, of dying men and horses, and the air was full of the stench of blood as I drew out my short sword and battled amongst the round shielded foe. I did not know if the rest of the battle had been joined, or if it was only the cavalry fighting.
All I could see, all I could perceive was the fighting about me. An ax was thrown aside by Tindómë, I cut at the hand of its wielder. A spear glance against the side of Feändil, I unseated the savage who had thrust it, again and again for what felt like hours I fought on, sometimes with the aid of the thanes of Aecfried, sometimes alone. The scrum was bloody and seemingly endless, as I hacked the fingers from men's hands and drove my blade into their necks. I felt blows glance against my mail and felt my own blade deflected by armor more times than I could count, and my arm was spattered in blood to the forearm when at last the Ketherlings seemed to think, and then break and flee, and the chaos subsided to leave us in the space between the two lines of spears, much wounded but triumphant against our foes.
It was with despair that I realized that it had not even been minutes before the savages fled and that the battle was not as I had hoped over, but instead only barely begun. I forced myself to sit tall in the saddle, despite my tiredness and looked on to find Aecfried. I could only pray that he still lived, for the clash had been bloody and I had not seen him in some time.
Mercifully, I spotted his fine Steel sword swinging lazy circles in the air, and once the ring of battle and the drums of my own heart were clear of my ears, I could hear his voice shouting over the din.
"To me, Riders of Enedwaith, to me!" He yelled, and I saw that he was beginning to ride towards the gap in the right flank. I could see his reason too, for the army of Vortaig was beginning its charge and it would be but moments before we found ourselves overrun in spears. So with all haste, I matched his speed and followed him with what remained of our cavalry from the clash.
It was a limping, wounded force that escaped the greater meeting of the two shield walls, which I heard behind me but did not have eyes upon at first. Some thirty of our number lay dead, wounded, or dismounted in the no man's land, but we had bloodied and driven off a greater number of Ketherlings, mostly by virtue of our longer lances and taller horses, which let us strike at their heads while they could only swing at our thighs. We were tired true, but we had started the battle well for our side, and the skirmishers we had saved would surely turn the tide of the battle our way as it dragged on.
The lord brought us to order again at the far right of the battlefield, and we gradually assumed a skein, though it was now a far less precise shape than it had been when we were fresh. Thereafter he turned and led us behind the clashing of the lines, which I could see was bloody and brutal, with Woodsmen against Ketherling and levy against levy. Spears shattered and shields rattled as the men of the Fisherfolk shed their own blood on the field for the sake of their chosen lords.
Alas, while the troops of the Fisherfolk did well at the center, the armor of the Ketherlings upon the flanks was proving a challenge to the Woodsmen. Their ring mail was crudely made, but it was still more protection than the nude Woodsmen had, and moreover, their fury and terror was less effective at disrupting these Ketherlings. These were not some scattered bands of raiders, nor were they a motley gathering, but rather they were the fighting men of Dunland, fierce and proud and blooded in the wars of their High chieftain Dirch, they were uncowed by the Woodsmen and began to drive them back and soak the ground in blood.
Still, the Woodsmen were not cowards, and for each inch, the Ketherlings advanced they were forced to fight, but there was a limit and the Woodsmen were swiftly approaching it, Especially where the Blood-ax fought.
The High Chieftain Dirch lived up to his name, and his stature was enormous, so when I first spotted his form amongst the battle line I thought that perhaps he was a troll, or part troll at least, for he must have stood more than seven feet tall, head and shoulders above even his own bodyguards. On top of that, he had a great helmet like a bull that made him seem taller still, and in its eyes, he had lit fuses so that it appeared he was a terrifying beast. He held in each of his great palms an ax, and he sundered and shattered the wicker shields of the Woodsmen where he walked. Behind him trailed two bannermen, who lifted Into the air the symbol of the bull.
It was thus that though we were tired and our horses also weary from our clash against the cavalry of the Ketherlings, Lord Aecfried once again raised his bright sword and shouted above the field that we should move to the left flank. There to slay the savage chieftain.
"Forth, forth, and let the raiders taste our steel!" The cry went up and was much repeated, and behind us came four hundred men of the Fyrds who had been amidst the reserves, and we moved to fall upon the Ketherling band and let the Woodsmen withdraw bloodied but intact.
Again there was the great clash of the charge, but this time it was against the enemy flank, and they were footmen without spears to brace. Without a lance I brought my shortsword down upon the Ketherlings with great fury and even more of the savage wastrels were trampled beneath the hooves of our steeds, but they did not break, and soon I saw that Dirch had rallied them about him with his Thanes, and there was a pause in the fighting as Aecfried road out before us to face the giant.
"You who have taken to my land as a leader of brigands, thieves, and murderers, face me now, so I might see you off as is the rightful and just punishment amongst our people."
All seemed to take heed, for the Lord raised his good broad sword and held it up in challenge, and the Ketherlings paused as their high chieftain stepped forward to face Aecfried alone. A circle was formed by the men in watching, and the lord road forward to clash against the axes of the Ketherling with a thrust, but the Ketherling parried and threw him back, pushing even the lord's steed with the force of his ax-blow, and my heart was rocked with worry for my friend Aecfried, but he kept in the stirrup and recovered, and when next he approached the great bull he was better braced, and he knocked the ax of Dirch to the side and cut him in the shoulder as his sword cut around the Dunlending's mail.
It was a fine blow, and well struck, but it was not enough to stop the great Ketherling, and he brought his other ax around and landed a fierce blow into Aecfried's side that threw him from his steed, and he was left gasping on the ground as the giant paused to mock him saying. "For all your prattle of justice and rightfulness, you have committed greater folly than I." The beastly man snarled from beneath a great black beard. "For your folly is weakness, and your punishment shall be death!"
As he moved to bring his ax's down though, his own folly was revealed, for in the time he had spoken, Aecfried had cunningly caught his breath, and he leaped to his feet and drove his blade into the mouth of the giant, who gagged and choked, and fell limp, as the thrust had severed his spine, and Aecfried stood above him as his corpse fell to the ground, and his bull helmet clattered to the mud under the shadow of Puckman's stone.
A great cry went up from the Fisherfolk and Woodsmen, and the Ketherlings quaked.
The battle then turned in our favor, for Vortaig was too cowardly to come down from the hill, and our archers had free pickings until their quivers were empty, while I with the rest of the cavalry rode roughshod over the rear of Vortaig's shield wall. The banners of the bull were trampled to the ground, and all the Ketherlings took to flight while the bloodied hosts of the Woodsmen fell upon their backs like hounds to the fox, and the traitor Fyrds surrendered, fled, or were cut down. Vortaig left his banners standing upon the hill, took a fast horse, and fled to the East, perhaps back to his own hall at Helmstead, but his threat was ended by the victory at Puckman's rock, and his army shattered, more than a thousand levies were captured, and in turn, most renewed their oaths to the Lord of the Fisherfolk, rather than their traitorous Thanes, and all across the land the Ketherling raiders were hunted like dogs.
Still, when the fighting was over, and I walked the battlefield to help identify the wounded from the dead, I could only weep, for the ground was stained with the blood of men, good and evil, but worthy of more all the same. The war was unforgiving and bitter, and my own blade was stained with the blood of what must have been a dozen men, but in death, I could not remember their faces from one another, and that seemed a terrible thing to forget. I was not certain if all the prayers to Eru I could ever utter would mend the bloodshed in this place, nor would it save the wounded who groaned and suffered upon the ground.
I had known my path would lead me to see such suffering, but still, it weighed heavily upon my heart.
Soon after the battle, Ardhar arrived having defeated the rearguard that had kept him in siege. He too, knelt before Aecfried and reaffirmed him lord, and Aecfried swore that he would be rewarded greatly for his loyalty when Vortaig was finally caught and brought to justice, or at least driven from the lands of the Fisherfolk to stew in exile, but first, the wounded needed seeing to, and a great camp was set up, and lord Aecfried asked that I direct the mending of wounds, and the treatment of injuries, for he trusted greatly in my healing.
"I trust it into your charge." He had said, though in his understanding he had added. "I do not ask that you share all which you hold secret, but the ways of your people are known to be far better at healing than our own."
"My lord." I nodded, bowing, "I accept of course, but I have a request if you would hear it." I knew that it would be a hard thing to accept, but also that Eru was my guide, and I could not fail to ask.
"Speak then, for you have fought valiantly at my side." The lord nodded, and I thought I saw in his eye a flash of recognition, for he frowned shortly after, perhaps knowing my request before I spoke it.
"Allow me also the Ketherlings to heal," I said, biting my tongue somewhat. The bloodshed on the field of battle had softened my heart greatly, and I could not bare to hide the third gift if it would save but one life, Ketherling or Fisherfolk, the difference was little. The revelation was sharp in my mind, that perhaps this was what my elf-friend had meant, that the loss of even a single life for the greed of a bauble, even one as sacred as my own, would not truly have been worthwhile. With this in mind, I spoke to Aecfried with a hopeful if heavy heart. "I will share my light, but the one to whom it belongs is not so cruel that he would not heal even the vilest offender, I ask only that you allow me to share the same mercy with our foes, they pose no threat to your people now."
The king looked down at me and his eyes met my own for a long moment, and I saw on his face that he struggled with the answer, for his fury was great and righteous at the Ketherlings, and hot blood ran in his veins, but after long thought, he decided, shrugging his shoulders. "It is no great injury to me if a few dogs live longer lives. Heal who you will."
I nodded, and from my mail, I drew out the third gift, for I knew I would no longer be able to hide it if I sought to heal the injured, and there in the open before the lord and Ardhar and others passing by I opened the locket, and at once the healing light held within washed over me, and over the lord Aecfried, who relaxed from the blow to his side he had suffered from Dirch, and over all the people who saw it. Holding it before me like a torch I stepped through the camps of the wounded, and all about me the groaning of the men eased. Those who could not be saved passed in peace, and the suffering of those who might yet live was greatly eased, their wounds bled no more and their eyes became clear, and I watched in wonder at the working of Eru's will by my hand.
Then, mounting Hinzil and with Ûrêthôr behind, I rode out over the field with the light high above my head, not as a knight of battle, but one of hope and I felt the weight the bloodshed had placed on my heart ease as I saw that even the wounded foe was awed at the light, and the sacred light healed them as surely as it had the levies of the Fisherfolk, and the Woodsmen also, and many who saw it began to pray, for it was a miracle like no man there had ever seen. Up and down the battlefield I rode, and even into the night I flew on guided by my own small star, until I grew weary, and no more wounded could be found. I closed the locket and replaced it, and dismounting lay down between Hinzil and Ûrêthôr in the grasses of the battlefield.
I had intended to keep the gift secret, for I feared the jealousy of others and the tragedy of the Silmarils, but now my heart was conflicted, for I still feared such a doom, wherein a magic of healing might lead to more injury than good, but against that, I felt the weight of all the men I had seen wounded, and I thought that it might be a sin to so hide the light granted to me by Eru from my kin, his children who could be healed by its usage. Now the two feelings warred within me.
I knew I would not be able to find an answer so easily, and I decided then that I should speak to the wise, and hear their words before I made some final decision. Thus mollified within my mind, I fell to sleep beneath the light of moon and star upon the field at Puckman's rock.
The days that followed came quickly and with great effort, for lord Aecfried set out to the east, and rather than pushing straight for Helmhall, took his time and effort to drive out the banditry of the Ketherlings and others from his war-torn land, and to reorganize and appoint new thanes and aldermen across the traitor territories. Ardhar's domain was expanded greatly, on the condition that he split it evenly between his two sons upon his death, and the treasury was opened with gifts and rewards to those who had served him loyally in battle.
I was offered much of both, even the seat at Helmhall when his brother in law was driven from it, and the offer of his elder daughter, Denflad's hand in marriage when she came of age in three years. An idea I had good faith that his wife had suggested to him. I gently denied these gifts, and Aecfried took no umbrage with me, for I think even he understood that my mission was such I could not bind myself to any one lord or nation, save for him who my ancestors hailed as high king, and above that to Eru. Still, in his turn, he gave me a new spear of finely carved wood and another four rings. One of the rings he gave me was a signet, and upon it, he had carved in runes the words "true friend" in the bastard westron which his people spoke. With this gift, he promised that for as long as his people remembered him, so too would they remember me. For in every saga I would be named a friend to the Fisherfolk, and to Aecfried and his line.
It seemed almost an afterthought to all the fanfare at court, when it was learned that Vortaig had fled long before the army reached Helmshall, and no one knew to where he had gone, but most thought he had gone amongst the Dunlendings, for the younger brother of Dirch had also reached his homeland and become chieftain over the Ketherlings.
Thus, before the ending of the third month of service, my oath to Aecfried was fulfilled, and though I spent until the end of April in his court, I knew that I soon needed to leave, for many had now heard of the light of Puckman's field, and all at court connected it to me. Some thought me a wizard, and others an elf in mannish form. This left me confused, and I wished to speak to the Lady Galadriel, and perhaps also Gandalf, and Elrond of what I ought to do. I feared greatly that dark forces would hear of it and begin to move to steal it for themselves, and of what darkness rumor of it might draw to Enedwaith. Who knew if even Saruman might pursue me for it. The white wizard might not have turned to evil yet, but he was always a keeper of secret things, and he might think it safer in his hands than my own.
If I did not know his likely path I might even agree with him.
And so it was that I said goodbye to Aecfried, who I considered now a good friend, and to Alfred who I thought of likewise, and to Alfven who embraced me and told me to go and pursue my destiny, and to the children of the court, and to men I had healed, and men who had come and asked me to teach them to pray to the god I followed that had so healed them, and I told them then that they should pray to the one, Illuvatar, and I hoped that some might follow, and spread that faith amongst the Fisherfolk even in my absence, for they were not entirely unfamiliar with him as the god of the Numenoreans.
Thus on the first of May, in the year 2926 of the Third Age, I rode out of the gates of Aether's Hall and left my father's boat in the care of Alfven and her children once again, and I rode to the east, towards the gap of Rohan, where I would cross the Isen and make my way north to Lothlorien, albeit not by the most direct route.
But that is a tale for another day.
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