Stay in the Woods

Crossing the Anduin, West of Mirkwood  March 11 3019

There! Even in my Lord’s darkness it is still a little luminous. And the smell! Elves and their trees. Well, these trees will shine a little less brightly after this day. I will breathe on and blacken their outer forest.

And then we will retreat. Let them call it a victory. The ‘first battle for Lorien’ or something. Let the elves think we care about their stories, their trivial battles. While they stay in their woods and sing songs we take over the world. They think they are important but the main battles will be south in Gondor. Let them stay in their woods. We distract them, confine them here, and slip past their watch an army headed for Rohan. We know the elves will not move. And now the Rohirrim will not move either.

So let them call it a victory. And there will be more, for we will attack again. The elves may drive us off, but each time there will be fewer of them. Meanwhile, we smash the Dunedain and their city, kill that last Numenorian brigand, regain my Master’s ring.

And then, not yet, but not far off, we will come to Lothlorien for the last time.