Middle Earth and the Mandalorian- Crosspost

Chapter 27- Final War Council

Chapter 27- Final War Council

Jakan sighs a bit as he trudges across the battlefield surrounding Minas Tirith. It's been only a short time since the battle ended. All of Mordor's forces had been eradicated. The cleanup is beginning, and the Rohirrim have been welcomed into Minas Tirith. However, that is not what is concerning Jakan at the moment.

Jakan stops about 10 feet behind where Aragorn is standing. Gathered before Aragorn is the Army of the Dead, as Legolas called them. As he looks at the sight before him, he thinks to himself, I've seen a lot of weird stuff on this planet, but this may be the weirdest.

"Release us," the King of the Dead demands of Aragorn in a bit of a harsh tone. Although he had listened to Aragorn's summons as the King of Gondor, it didn't mean he trusted Aragorn.

Aragorn looks at the army calmly. However, Gimli has other things on his mind. To him, the Army of the Dead is a massive military advantage that shouldn't be thrown away. And it's that thought that makes it out of his mouth as he says, "Bad idea! Very handy in a tight spot, these lads, despite the fact they're dead."

"You gave us your word!" the king growls, incensed by Gimli's words. He feels furious at the thought that Aragorn might listen to Gimli and go back on his word. At long last, peace is finally in their grasp, and the thought of Aragorn going back on his word to give them that infuriates him.

However, Aragorn is not so inclined as Gimli is. His entire life, his word has been his life. He knows that to go back on his word now would make him worse than he always though Isildur was. He will not use broken promises to win the war, no matter the cost. It's there thoughts that go through his head as he looks right at the King of the Dead and says, "I hold your oath fulfilled. Go. Be at peace."

A look of satisfaction comes over the King's face. He slowly closes his eyes, and lets out a long sigh of relief as he feels what he considers the bands of life finally release. A feeling of relief washes over the battlefield as the army fades away.

Silence reigns for a few moments before Aragorn turns around to face his friends. He looks at Jakan. The two look at each other before nodding. Jakan then reaches up and removes his helmet as Aragorn walks over to him.

"You know you just let go of an almost guaranteed victory," Jakan says.

"No matter the cost, I honor my word," Aragorn says.

"And that's what sets you apart from everyone else. That is what makes you the king Gondor needs," Jakan says. As he says this, he realizes that before coming to Middle-Earth, he probably would've sided with Gimli. However, coming to this planet has taught him some valuable lessons.

"Now what?" Jakan asks.

"We help clean up, and see to it that everyone who is wounded is healed. Then, we will talk about our next move," Aragorn says.

Jakan slowly nods, then turns to his three Mandalorian friends behind him. "Well, friends. Time for the trough between the waves," he says. The three all nod once.

Clean up operations began immediately after the battle was over. Rohirrim and Gondorians alike worked hard to gather the fallen and bring them to a site chosen as a mass grave for the fallen. The exceptions were Denethor and Theoden. Denethor was to be buried in a tomb in Minas Tirith, while several Rohirrim had already departed back to Edoras with Theoden's body, knowing that Theoden would want to be buried alongside his son at Edoras. At the same time, corpses of the various enemies who attacked Minas Tirith were gathered for burning outside Minas Tirith.

Gathering the dead for burial was not the only task of the survivors. Men from both Gondor and Rohan had been sent out into the Pelennor Fields to find wounded Rohirrim and bring them into Minas Tirith. The four Mandalorians had joined in this effort. Their jetpacks were very useful for getting the more critically wounded to Minas Tirith quickly.