War of the Ring: The Chronicles of Dale

[Yodaman]

*Please don't put this story with the other WOTR story. There was a thread about it and people said they didn't have to be put together since they were so different. Read about it here: http://entmoot.tolkientrail.com/show...threadid=10892 Thanks

WAR OF THE RING
THE CHRONICLES OF DALE
By yodaman

The skies of Middle-Earth are beginning to darken. Orcs have started to multiply faster than ever. The One Ring to rule them all has been discovered, and trouble is beginning to stir up in Middle-Earth once again. Once this chain of events began to unfold, trouble has spread throughout Middle-Earth- especially the south. Mordor has besieged Osgiliath numerous times. Gondor’s greatest captain, Boromir Son of Denethor, has run on an errand to Rivendell. Due to these events, Minas Tirith has been getting ready for a great battle, and the case is no different for King Brand of Esgaroth. While Minas Tirith has been besieged by legions of Orcs, Esgaroth is having troubles of their own, for a force of Easterlings have crossed the River Carnen and have begun to attack Brand’s kingdom. Now, in the third age of Middle-Earth, the fate of the South will not be decided by one great king, but by two…

CHAPTER I
THE END OF AN ERA

A loud horn rang throughout all of Esgaroth, signaling an enemy attack. King Brand, who was enjoying a fine meal of roasted boar with some close friends, but once he heard the horn, he ran to the armory to get dressed into his battle armor. He didn’t even wait for his dresser to put the heavy suit of armor on his body, for he knew most of his army was waiting for him.

“My lord!” yelled Narodan, his chief lieutenant. “An army of Easterlings has crossed the Anduin. They carry flaming arrows and torches, ready to set our city in flames! You must hurry!”

“What does it look like I’m doing?” complained Brand. He then quickly finished putting on the armor, grabbed a simple but deadly sword, and ran towards the battlefield. There he found 700 of his 1,000 soldiers standing in an orderly fashion, waiting for his orders to march into battle. The other three hundred were on the battlefield, trying to keep the Easterlings at bay.

“We’re awaiting your orders, my liege”, said one of the soldiers.

“You are to march out and do what you can to keep the Easterlings at bay”, said Brand. Narodan, you lead an evacuation to Dale.”

“Dale, sir?” questioned Narodan.

“Yes”, said Brand. “While we aren’t Dáin Ironfoot’s best buddies, but he would help us in our time of need. Do whatever means necessary to evacuate them, even if it mean crossing the River Carnen.”


“Yes sir”, said Narodan.

“The rest of you”, said Brand, “will follow me into the battle. We will meet head on with the Easterlings to buy time for the evacuation.”

“Then what?” asked a soldier.

“If we are able to defeat them”, said Brand, “We will remain here. But since that is unlikely, due to our few numbers, we will cross the river Carnen to get into Dale to meet up with Narodan and the civilians. Any questions?” There was silence for a few seconds. “Okay then”. Brand then drew his sword. “Let’s hunt some Easterling.” His army then drew their swords and faced towards the battlefield. Brand then lifted up his sword and then straight forward, which signaled to march to the battlefield. Brand ran at his steady pace towards the battle, and his loyal army followed him.

The Easterlings took notice and fired their arrows at the army, but the Easterlings were bad aims and hit the windows of the palace. Brand’s archers, who were at work since the first seconds of the battle, fired their arrows at all the Easterlings near Brand, so that their king may not be slain. But the archers could not slay the entire Easterling force, and that’s where Brand came in. He swung his sword about the battlefield, trying to stab the Easterlings in the neck area, which was the only part not protected by the armor. The Easterlings were very experienced fighters, which was one thing that Brand was not. The worst Brand had ever faced was a band of thieves, but after the Battle of Five Armies, the kings of Esgaroth made sure that their soldiers were prepared for anything.

The Easterlings had the element of surprise on their side, which was devastating for Brand’s soldiers. Brand cut through the lines, slashing with his sword and killing as many soldiers as he could. He ordered his army to try to push the Easterlings towards the water, so that they would be forced to go into their boats and go back home. That proved to be a challenge, though, as the Easterlings greatly outnumbered the Esgarothians. Brand decided that they would have to kill a lot more soldiers before his strategy could be devised, although they neither had the means nor the men to do so.

“Baramath”, exclaimed Brand to his commanders. “Is there any way we can shorten the number of Easterlings as quickly as possible?”

“There’s no other way besides fighting with our swords”, said Baramath. “We don’t have anything fancy like the Gondorians. I’m sorry”.

“You did what you could”, said Brand while dodging a blow from an Easterling. After he killed it, he turned back to Baramath. “We must join the others. RETREAT! RETREAT TO DALE!” All of Brand’s soldiers then turn around and ignored the battle at hand. Brand then pointed his sword towards the dock and began to run. Most of his soldiers followed him, but not all were able to. The Easterlings took advantage and fired several arrows and the running soldiers. Some of them even set their arrows on flame and launched them at the buildings, destroying the city their enemy originated. Brand was the first to load onto a ship, not because he was cowardly but that his city could not afford to loose him. As the boat he got on was filled with soldiers, he cut the rope and let the ship sail off into the Carnen. A few ships followed after him, but the soldiers behind weren’t so lucky. The Easterlings had set torch to the dock, making it near impossible for any other ships to leave. After that the Easterlings set torch the entire city, turning the beautiful lake town into a pile of rubble.

“I should’ve been there”, thought Brand, “but my people need me here. Oh well. If Dáin won’t aid us in our time of need, then it shall be the downfall for us all.”

[Yodaman]

CHAPTER II
THE ART OF THE DEAL

Brand and his army walked through the green country of Dale, land of the Dwarves. The mountains, green as a result of spring, stuck out like the jagged teeth of a Warg. The only way they could tell which mountain contained Dáin was by the door, which glowed in the moonlight.

“What does it say?” asked a soldier.

“It says ‘The Halls of Dáin, Lord of Dale’ in Elvish”, said Brand. “It also says ‘Speak, friend, and enter’. I wonder what that could mean”, He then sat down, thinking what the line meant, not knowing that what its intent was. He then repeated the lines in Elvish, and the doors miraculously opened.

“I must have said something”, said Brand. He then walked in, but two Dwarvish soldiers, clad with thick armor and small axes, blocked Brand’s way.

“Are you kin of Esgaroth?” asked a Dwarvish soldier.

“Yes”, said Brand. “I am”.

“Good”, said the other soldier. “King Dáin would like to see you”. Brand and his soldiers followed into the halls Dale, which were big even for a full-sized man. The halls were made up of large, ornate pillars, which were cloaked in characters from the Dwarvish language. There was a large bridge, and down below were legions of Dwarves, all mining for the ores that were in the contents of the mountain. They walked closer to find two large doors that were more impressive than the moonlit one they encountered earlier. The soldiers then opened the door and lead them to the throne room of King Dáin Ironfoot. The throne room was huge, with golden walls lined up with the rarest jewels of Middle Earth. His throne was just as beautiful, which was made out of gold, jewels, and had a seat made from Warg fur. There were dozens and dozens of soldiers in the room, so that Dáin could never be hurt.

“Well, well, well”, said Dáin. “If it isn’t King Brand of Esgaroth. I have been awaiting your arrival.”

“Likewise”, said Brand. “If I may ask you one question, was there a force of women, children, and old men led by a young commander by the name of Narodan?”

“Don’t be hasty”, exclaimed Dáin. “Yes, he came here about twelve hours ago. He was pretty worried about you, too. Wanted to make sure you guys arrived safely. Gráo, escort Brand and his soldiers to the hall with the other Esgarothians. Make sure they get a meal of red meat and our finest ale”.

“Yes, sir”, said Gráo. He then escorted the other soldiers out of the hall, but Brand refused to go.

“Why won’t you go?” asked Dáin. “I’m insulted!”

“I’m not trying to insult you”, said Brand. “I just want to talk.”

“About what?” asked Dáin. “Don’t worry- I’ve got all the time in Middle-Earth”.

“That’s the one thing we don’t have”, said Brand. “The Easterlings know we retreated to Dale, and they followed us. Within a day’s time, they will launch an assault upon your city to try to destroy us all. Sauron is committing genocide! The world of men, Elves, and Dwarves shall be destroyed!”

“If you are saying I should go to war”, yelled Dáin. “That is one thing we must not do.”

“Why?” asked Brand. “To protect your little jewels?”

“NO!” yelled Dáin. “My miners are my soldiers, and they make up every single Dwarf in this rock. They have never fought any force other that a band of raiders. It would be a massacre!”

“The case was the same with my army!” yelled Brand. “But we endured! They heavily outnumbered us five to one, but we endured! Even though we lost our city, our men, and were forced to retreat, we endured, and we continued to live. We will not continue to live if you do not combine forces with me and destroy the menace of the Easterlings once an for all!”

“I CANNOT!” yelled Dáin. “I have miners, not soldiers. These are the matters for Men and Elves, not Dwarves!”

“That is what I hate about the Dwarvish attitude towards war”, said Brand. “You think it is a matter we can handle, such as we did during the War of the Last Alliance. Leave it to the Elves and Men. You never take responsibility! The thing is, it’s all our responsibility! Do you have children? You must, since you’re the king. Anyway, what you decide today will affect their future. If we do not act today, not only will your children die but also all the children in Dale will die! What say you?” Brand knew he got to Dáin, for he had children and knew what Brand was saying was true.

“Please leave”, said Dáin. “I will think about it in the evening.”

“Very well”, said Brand. He left the building with a heavy felling in his heart. He knew that Dáin would make a decision, but whether it would be a good or not was all up to him.

[Elf Girl]

*is trying to help a promising author without setting off his temper* Um, your quotation marks are messed up. The commas go inside them. Also, I would recommend spelling out the numbers seven hundred and one thousand. I don't know why, I guess it's just the accepted way of doing things.

[Yodaman]

CHAPTER III
THE TURN OF THE TIDE

After a night of red meat, fine ale, and dancing Dwarvish women (which disgusted the Esgarothians, since they looked like the Dwarvish men), Brand awoke with good news- the Dwarves were going to war. Dáin had awoken early that night because he could not sleep, so he awoke his messenger to and sent him to see if Brand’s story was true. Sure enough, the scout reported that there were Easterlings on a course for Dale. The scout reported that there was half the number of Easterlings than the Esgarothians encountered, which shocked Dáin. So the first thing Brand that morning was ‘Get ready for battle!’, which pleased him greatly. He went to the armory to get his armor on, and he met up with some of his fellow soldiers.

“It’s like we just fought our war”, said Narodan. “Now another one is brewing in our backyard.”

“Oh well”, said Brand. “I’d rather fight two days in a row than have my species wiped out by Darkskins”.

“That’s true”, said Narodan. After Brand got his armor and weapons ready, he joined Dáin in front of the army, which composed of over 1,000 men and Dwarves.

“They are nervous”, said Dáin. “I can hear it in their voices. I can smell it in their sweat. I can even feel it in their footsteps. This is bad, I tell you. Really, really bad.”

“You’re complaining about them being nervous when you’re just as bad. Relax. Even if we die our children will live, which is what counts. Remember? Dáin was silent after Brand said that comment. For the next three hours, the army waited on the grassy fields of Dale for the Easterlings to come to them, so they could have the war they’ve been trying to avoid for so long.

“Oh, come one!” complained a Dwarvish soldier. “Come and kill us already!”

“Be patient”, said another Dwarf. “They will come in given time. Look! Is that them now?” Sure enough, the Easterling forces were arriving at Dale, and Brand and Dáin hurried up to get the attention of their soldiers.

“My brothers in arms!” cried Brand while Dáin said the same in Dwarvish. “You have given your lives to help ensure the safety of our children and the future that they will live in. I know this was not an easy decision, but one that must be made. We are facing about 900 Easterling forces, which is slightly less than ours. They are better trained in combat, though, but we have one thing they don’t- determination. This is our battle! We must march out and face the enemy! We will not back down! We will not retreat! And we will not submit to the will of Sauron! THIS IS OUR BATTLE!” With one wave of their arms, the soldiers made a loud cheer that could be heard for miles and miles. Brand then raised his sword and Dáin his axe, and with one friendly word they lifted up their weapons and shouted the word that would be the end of their lives- “MARCH!” The entire army then followed the two kings into the battle, and the Easterlings seemed to be doing the same. A loud Easterling chant could be heard across the plains of Dale, with their deep voices piercing the ears of the soldiers. But the thought of winning the battle gave the soldiers’ adrenaline, the adrenaline that gave them courage.

Once their bodies were ready for battle, Brand began sprinting towards the enemy, and the rest followed. The loud sound of marching feet filled every soldier’s ear, which was soon replaced by the sharp ‘ping’ of the clashing of swords. The impact was strong on the Men and Dwarves, for the Easterlings had sharp, advanced armor. Brand and his soldiers had fought this menace before, so they began to aim for their necks and kill as many as possible before dying themselves. The dwarves hadn’t fought the Easterlings, however, so they did what they did with most enemies- trip them with their axes and kill them with one hacking blow. That tactic worked well, especially for Dáin, who was tall for a dwarf. The Easterlings didn’t seem to put up much of a fight, however, despite their skill and experience. The Easterlings were dropping like flies, which didn’t mean that there were no casualties on Brand’s side. However, Brand heard the Easterling commander call retreat after he only killed five soldiers. Once the command was called, a loud noise of cheers and footsteps filled Brand’s ears.

“It’s over!” yelled Dáin. We won! We won! Let’s celebrate with vintage 1296!”

“NO!” said Brand. “THIS IS A DIVERSION! THEY WILL HAVE REENFORCEMENTS! BE ON GUARD!”

“How do you know?” asked Dáin. “Are you a spy?”

“No”, said Brand. “Just common sense”. Then, the loud rumble of hooves plague their ears, and a terrible sight filled their eyes- the Easterling cavalry. The Easterling cavalry composed of over a thousand horses and several Chariots all armed with deadly arrows. Brand then leaped upon Dáin and pulled him out of the way, before the Chariots would run over them. Then, the clamp clamp of armored feet filled their ears. They both looked up, and saw the Easterling commander with two great spiked clubs, ready to smash their head. Dáin then leaped up towards the Commander, with his axe ready.

“If you want some meat”, growled Dáin, “I’m the most tender!” The Commander then charged at Dáin with his clubs swaying. Dáin rolled under the Commander, and then hacked at his legs with this axe. Dáin continued to hack at the Commander, who fell on the ground. With his armor weakened, Dáin began to remove it to take the killing blow.

“NO!” yelled Brand. “AIM FOR THE NECK!” But before Dáin could follow those orders, the Commander leaped upon Dáin and sent him flying with a blow of his club. The Commander ran towards Dáin to make a final killing blow, but there was something sticking through the Commander’s gut.

“Guess what, Darkskin”, said Brand. “My meat’s well done!” The Commander then removed the sword and began to swing his clubs at Brand. Brand blocked several of the blows with his sword, but he couldn’t block all the blows. Most of them hit his gut, and one blow cut several of his veins, which made him bleed real hard. But then, out of nowhere, Dáin gave one last blow to the Commander’s legs, which gave Brand enough time to behead the Commander. He then collapsed on the floor and lay down next to Dáin.

“Thanks”, said Brand as he lay down and watched the battle unfold before his eyes.

“Don’t mention it”, said Dáin, who was doing the same. “I should thank you.”

“Well, here we are”, said Brand. “At the end of all things. I never thought I would die in battle. I thought I would die of being an old, crumbled old man.”

“Why… don’t we sing a song”, asked Dáin.

“S….sure”, said Brand. “Wh…..wh……..which song?”

“I….have………one”, chocked Dáin. “There is an inn…..a….merry old inn….beneath and old gray hill.”

“And there they brew….a beer so brown”, joined Brand. “That the man…in the moon himself….came down one night to drink….his fill.” The two kings then tried to sing the rest of the song, but they soon found out they could sing no more. That was the end of King Brand and King Dáin Ironfoot.

[Yodaman]

CHAPTER IV
THE END OF ALL THINGS

Bard II walked across the green fields of dale, towards a hoard of gray slabs that would be called ‘gravestones’. Graveyards often made Bard II sad, but this time he was especially sad, for he was looking at a very important grave- his father’s. Bard II was sick with Gromaecha, a deadly disease of the skeletal system, during the Battle of Dale and had just recovered from it. He had caught it while Narodan was evacuating the civilians to Dale, and Bard II had missed everything in between. He had missed the battle, his father’s death, and even his father’s burial ceremony, and Bard II was crowned King the day after he got well. He was shocked about his father’s death, and even more shocked about the news of his kingship. Bard II didn’t think he was ready for command, for he was only 15 and had never lead his army into combat. His father had died in a horrific battle, and someone had to take that place, and Bard II filled that spot perfectly. After he had gotten well, he made sure he found out about the battle and learned of the epic struggle between his father, Dáin Ironfoot, and the Easterling commander.

After Brand and Dáin passed away while singing the merry old inn song, Narodan saw their dead bodies and ordered a retreat. The army then ran to the Dwarven city, and the Easterlings followed in pursuit. While the army hid in the fortress, the Easterlings began a siege against them. The siege lasted for several hours, with the Easterlings nearing victory. Then, out of nowhere, a messenger gave news of Sauron’s defeat at the Black Gate of Mordor, and the Easterlings panicked and ran away, and the combined forces of the Esgarothians had victory. Even though both kingdoms lost their kings, it had been a happy day for them all.

“Hey, kid”, said Thorin III, son of Dáin Ironfoot. “The wedding of that one Gondorian king is about to start soon. Remember?”

“Yes, yes”, said Brand II. “I do. Unlike you, I awoke from a sickness to find out my father had died and I was to be king! I have a lot on my mind!”

“It wasn’t any better for me, either”, said Thorin III. “I had been worried throughout the whole battle, not knowing whether my father had survived or not. Then, I found out he is dead and that my kingdom is about to be besieged. Is that any better?” Bard II then lunged at Thorin III, and they began to rumble about in the grass. Bard II hated the fact that Thorin III made his father’s death sound so much worse, while Thorin III hated how Bard II was bragging. The two then stopped fighting once the sound of hooves filled their ears, and an Elf on a white horse was seen. He wore red and gold armor, and had a thick set of blond-white hair that flowed through his head like a leaf in the wind.

“Greetings”, said the Elf. “I am Haldir, captain of the Golden Wood. You are Kings Bard II and Thorin III, are you not?”

“Yes, sir”, replied the two kings.

“Well, then”, said Haldir. “Aren’t you supposed to be at Aragorn’s coronation ceremony?”

“Yes, sir”, replied the two kings once again.

“Then why aren’t you there?” replied Haldir. There was silence from the two kings, which caused Haldir to laugh. “I thought so. Since that is also my destination, why don’t you join me? I shall tell you of my great adventures in battle.”

“Sure”, said the two kings. They then got on the horse’s back and Haldir rode off.

“Just a couple of days ago, I was involved in a large battle”, exclaimed Haldir. “Three time my land had been assailed in the same week. Three times! And the fourth was about to come! But my skilled army and I knew what was coming, so we planned a counter attack for each attack they brought on.” The two kings then listened intently as they rode of to King Aragorn’s coronation ceremony, where they would find their greatest dreams.


THE END

[Yodaman]

Now here's an extra bonus: The Trailer for WOTR II!

[Elf Girl]

Er... Yodaman... the trailer is very nice, but wouldn't it be better if you worked at improving the story instead of making shiny movie trailers?

[Snowdog]

This is quite good in that it deals witha part of the war not really mentioned.
It coul dbe developed further as the breaks seem to leave gaps in a way. But overall i think its pretty well written.