The Slithering Worm
By Eowyn
Night of June 14-17
The Great West Road in the Westfold
The sun disappears behind the western horizon
in a glorious sunset of crimson mixed with deepening blue and
night falls upon the land at last. The day of June 14 has finally
ended, marking a triumphant victory for the forces of the West
at Helm's Deep. The four armies of the West - Gondor, Rohan, Lorien
and the Army of Western Lands - make camp upon the Great West
Road not too far from the Deep, for after intense fighting since
dawn, both man and horse are spent. Indeed, only months of suppressed
hatred for the evils of Mordor could drive men to fight so furiously
and so long without rest.
Companies of elves continue fighting the rear guard of the enemy
through the night, for the elder race was accustomed to darkness
and did not tire easily.
The soldiers of Mordor who threw down their arms and sued for
mercy were granted pardon and put to work amending the hurts caused
by their land, after taking oaths never to assail again the free
lands of the West.
That night, back at Helm's Deep, hundreds of wounded men lay upon
piles of straw in the Hornburg, as healers desperately try to
tend to the hurts of those whom they think will have a chance
to live.
Many of the men, whether slightly wounded or able-bodied, do not
go with the Armies of the West as they pursue the retreating Army
of Darkness. Instead, they stay behind and help injured comrades
off the battlefield, sorting the living from the dead. Soon will
come the grievous task of gathering the fallen and burying them
in their proper mound.
When the morning of the 15th comes, the Armies of the West, refreshed
after a night of peaceful sleep, break camp and continue pursuing
the hordes of darkness as they flee eastward upon the Great West
Road.
The days of the 16th and 17th are spent much the same way, as
both armies, the advancing forces of the West and the retreating
forces of Mordor, near the occupied city of Edoras. The repulsive
black worm of the Army of Mordor continues to crawl back towards
the dark land where it was spawned, its ponderous size greatly
reduced, its speed hastening as it travels eastward.