“As Aragorn has begun, so we must go on. We must push Sauron to his last throw. We must call out his hidden strength, so that he shall empty his land. We must march out to meet him at once. “ Gandalf, The Last Debate, RotK

Was there any hope left? We had long abandoned it when our Lord had committed suicide and my nephew hung on in the brink of death until the King had returned to summon him back to the path of recovery.

Pledging to Aragorn to be my liege-lord, Gondor must not now back down in the counsels that Mithrandir had given us. We had to give as much aid as needed to ride to the impregnable Black Gate. Courage was our best defense now.

Our soldiers are weary, but we must prepare them for one last stand to the bitter end.

A/N Written for tolkien100 prompt " Do all plans have to include an element of suicidal risk". Word count does NOT include book quote.