𝕰𝖑𝖊𝖓𝖆

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Alcavarnë Nettë

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"Are you alright? Elena? What's happening?" Ailen's voice barely reached me, as I pushed myself to my feet, swaying dangerously.

I knew I had to leave. I had no idea what the powers would do upon my receiving them. I didn't know what I would to. I just knew I had to get away. My eyes scanned the ground outside the causeway, still covered in nothing but Uruk-Hai soldiers stamping their spears, their shields, and their feet on the ground, their chanting voices drifting ominously over the battlegrounds.

If these powers had the potential to be destructive, perhaps the best course of action was infiltrating their ranks. Then, I might direct whatever havoc my powers will wreak at them, rather than Helm's Deep, or those hiding within its walls. I settled on this plan, my stomach churning as the pain continued to eat away at me. I turned my gaze down to Ailen, who still watched me fearfully.

"Stay here," I said through gritted teeth, "Be safe."

Without waiting to hear his response, I turned my head toward the ground and pushed against the onslaught of Uruk-Hai, making my way with shuddering and painful steps further down the causeway. The light of day intensified around us, but forsook the valley in which the fortress was situated. Still, I could connect the increasingly intensifying pain to the brightening of the sky. I guessed I had until the sun completely broke the horizon line, before my powers came to me in full.

By the time I'd made it to the ground, the pain was almost too much to bear. I fought off the urge to sink into the ground and give up. Allow the powers to claim me. But I thought of my mother, of Cyne, Gandalf, Ailen, and Éowyn. I thought of Aragorn, and of Legolas. And I knew I could not give up. At least not yet. Not until I'd made it to the centre of the Uruk-Hai ranks, where any explosions of power would cause the most damage.

The Uruk-Hai continued to ignore me as I slipped past them. The limp in my step at the pain went unnoticed as well, perhaps even adding to my brutish and lumbering Uruk-Hai facade. At last, I made it to what I could only guess was roughly the centre of their ranks. There, I stopped, clutching my spear with bone-white knuckles, and stamping it to the rhythm of the other Uruk-Hai. I winced each time I moved my arm, the effort growing more strenuous with each up and down motion.

I felt so heavy, so weak, so ready to give in. I strained to remember those I cared for, those beyond the walls of the fortress before me. My eyes were drawn to the castle, as I began to rely on the spear for vertical support. Atop one of its walls, I spotted a cluster of people pacing about, likely debating what to do. I recognized three amoung them who could not be mistaken for anyone else. A shoulder-height, red-bearded dwarf, a lithe, blonde, bow-wielding elf, and a dark-brown haired man, the leader. They seemed to face the gates, and were peering over the wall. Looking for me, I realized with a start. Another man, from what I could discern, Théoden, pulled them back into the conversation.

"Hey! Short one!" I started at the sound of a deep and booming voice behind me.

It was then that I realized I'd stopped stamping my spear into the ground, instead using it to support my weight. I turned slowly, avoiding his gaze but still registering him as a larger Uruk-Hai, likely a higher-up.

"Injured?" he asked gruffly, "We've no use for injured soldiers 'ere."

I didn't respond, instead straightening up, and hoping the Uruk-Hai would take that as evidence of my strength.

"Hey! Look at me when I'm speaking to you, maggot!" he shouted, pushing me backwards by the shoulders.

As soon as his hands made contact with me, he yelped, jumping back. The smell of burnt flesh hung heavy in the air, as the Uruk-Hai cradled his injured hands, glaring at me. I looked around. The other Uruk-Hai had distanced themselves at least ten feet from me, all of them looking from their commander to me, waiting for and order. I slipped off my helm, glaring at the commander.