8. Battles

The five novices slipped warily through the woods, every sense on the alert to detect the promised attack. Galelas, as usual, was in the lead. He was clearly tense. "There are five of us and only three of them," he said nervously. He glanced over his shoulder at Legolas, "And Eilian has the use of only one arm. We should be able to take them or at least make a good showing."

Just as these words had left his mouth, they heard something moving noisily through the woods off to their right. They turned to face the noise, swords drawn, and within seconds the three masters had erupted from between the trees and were rushing toward them. Galelas charged forward to encounter them and was "killed" almost instantly, as Thelion and Maldor passed on either side of him, leaving him exposed to Thelion's blade when he turned to defend himself against Maldor.

The other four novices took up defensive stances. Legolas whirled and stood back to back with Annael, his sword at the ready. The novices had not yet received much training in battle strategy, but Legolas had heard warriors talk about the usefulness of having another warrior at their back, so that neither of them could be taken by surprise.

The masters had now surrounded them. Thelion had disarmed and presumably "killed" Tonduil and was battling with Isendir, while Maldor was bearing down on Annael. Legolas found himself face to face with Eilian, sword raised and looking unexpectedly ferocious. For the briefest of moments, Legolas hesitated. What if he accidentally struck his brother's injured arm? Eilian, on the other hand, did not hesitate for a second. He thrust in under Legolas's guard and touched the tip of his sword to his younger brother's ribs. Then he shouldered him roughly aside and touched Annael's back too. Before either of them had time to react, he had whirled away looking for further combat. But the battle was over. All of the novices were "dead." Eilian lowered his sword and stood still for a moment, panting, and to Legolas's disgust, looking unbearably pleased with himself.

Eilian was indeed exhilarated. He had been going slowly mad with boredom under his enforced idleness at the palace, and he had enjoyed even this token battle mightily. He glanced around the battle scene. He had been surprised at the chaos into which the novices had immediately fallen. It had been a long time, he thought, since he had seen inexperienced warriors at work. His respect for the novice masters went up. Their teaching was what made the difference between the raw recruits he saw before him and the capable young warriors who came to him for service in the southern patrol.

Maldor was scowling at the novices. "That was entirely too easy," he said briskly. "Let us analyze where you went wrong." He paused and waited but no one offered any insights. "What mistakes did you make?" he prodded.

"Galelas should not have charged at you alone," said Tonduil, surprising everyone by his boldness. "He ended up all by himself among the three of you." Eilian noted that Galelas was now glaring at Tonduil. Galelas apparently took criticism not much better than his brother, Tinár, did. That could be a problem, he thought. He glanced at Legolas, whose face was impassive. Eilian wondered what he thought about his fellow novices. Apart from Annael, with whom Legolas had been friends since they were both elflings, Eilian was not sure.

"That is correct," agreed Maldor. "A charge like that would have to be coordinated with others and would be aimed at breaking through enemy lines. What else?"

Legolas sighed and spoke up. "I hesitated to strike at Eilian," he said. "I was afraid of hurting his arm," he added, defensively.

Eilian was reminded of Maldor's claim that Legolas needed to learn to think less personally if he were ever going to be a good captain. He was a bit annoyed that the unarmed combat master might prove right on that score.

Maldor frowned at Legolas. "Eilian is perfectly capable of taking care of himself," he said "as he clearly showed. And by hesitating, you allowed him not only to defeat you but to 'kill' Annael as well. You were supposed to be watching his back." He scanned the dejected looking novices. "What else?" he asked.

"We allowed the fight to deteriorate into confusion, rather than coordinating our actions," said Annael.

"Yes, that sums things up rather well," agreed Maldor. "Of course, it is hard to coordinate a fight without a captain. Evidently you did not choose one for yourselves during the time we gave you before we attacked. Tomorrow, we will rectify that problem." Eilian could see Galelas attending closely to Maldor's last statement and then sending a malevolent glance at Legolas. He frowned. If one of his own warriors had directed such a glance at another, he would have assumed that some sort of personal battle was going on that would hurt the pursuit of the real battle. He could see no reason to assume otherwise here.

"We will return to camp now," Maldor was saying. "You probably saw Legolas and Annael fighting back to back. That is an excellent strategy in this kind of close combat, and it is the technique that Thelion is going to be practicing with you this afternoon." He started off toward their camp site, and the others followed.

Eilian took the opportunity to catch at Legolas's arm and hold him until the others drew ahead. "Is there something going on between you and Galelas?" he asked.

Legolas jerked his arm out of his brother's grasp. "I thought that you were not going to play the big brother," he frowned.

"I am asking not as your brother, but as one of your masters," Eilian said, rather sharply. "If you and he are engaged in a private quarrel, you could do real damage to the group."

"I think you will find that Maldor already knows about whatever is going on between me and Galelas," said Legolas. "Although actually, I am not sure exactly what that might be."

Eilian blinked at that rather confusing answer. "What is Maldor doing about it?" he asked.

"Nothing, so far as I can see," Legolas answered.

"And what are you doing?"

"Nothing," said Legolas in exasperation. "There is nothing that I can do." And he walked off quickly, leaving Eilian looking after him with narrowed eyes.

They spent the afternoon in camp, with Thelion directing the novices in fighting back to back as Eilian and Maldor attacked them. Thelion paired them in all possible combinations, showing them what changes were made necessary by differences in size or fighting style. By the end of the practice session, they were all tired, but the novices seemed to have grasped the technique well.

Eilian played his role in the training attentively enough, circling the various pairs of novices and trying to draw them away from one another. But he kept his eye on the interaction between Galelas and Legolas, and by the end of the afternoon, he was satisfied that he had judged correctly: Galelas was actively hostile to Legolas, while Legolas wanted nothing to do with Galelas. When they had been required to work as a pair, the result had been singularly ineffective, despite the fact that they were the two most competent swordsmen in the group. They had seemingly been unable to sense and react to one another's movements and had constantly left each other's backs exposed.

When Maldor finally called a halt to the training, he sent the novices about their evening chores and then withdrew to sit on the flat rock where the masters had conferred that morning. Thelion and Eilian joined him. Eilian spoke without preamble: "What is the matter between Legolas and Galelas?" he asked immediately.

Maldor grimaced. "From what I have observed and overheard," he said, "I would say that Galelas is jealous of Legolas's weapons skills and role as the king's son. He has a great desire to be first. He works very hard to be the best, and I think that he resents Legolas's gifts."

Eilian reflected for a moment, thinking both of his conversation with Galelas during the previous night and his own experience with Galelas's arrogant brother, Tinár, who, like Legolas, was a gifted warrior. Maldor's analysis of Galelas was only too plausible, he thought. "And what of Legolas?" Eilian pursued. "What is his role in this?"

It was Thelion who answered this time. "Legolas has been trying to ignore him but has been unable to keep from being drawn into quarrels," he said.

"What have you done about it?" Eilian demanded.

"Punished them both," Maldor said promptly.

Eilian frowned. "You will pardon me if I say that that remedy does not seem to have been very effective," he said dryly.

Thelion spoke up before a scowling Maldor could reply. "We are aware of that, Eilian. Among other things, the exercises on this trip are meant to push the two of them into facing the problems that their behavior causes."

"I would say that Legolas is already aware of those problems," said Eilian, "but he does not know what to do about them."

"He has to stop ignoring the situation and confront it," Maldor insisted. "We masters can speak all the wise words in the world, but they will make no difference. Legolas is going to be a captain. He needs to start thinking now about how to draw Galelas into cooperating with the group so that his considerable strengths can be used. Legolas's own personal feelings should not enter into it."

“You are asking a great deal of him," Eilian protested.

"Yes, we are," said Thelion simply. "He will need help. You are the experienced captain here, Eilian. When you have the opportunity, see if you can prompt him into approaching Galelas rather than ignoring him."

Eilian thought for a moment. "Will you put us on watch together tonight?" he asked Maldor.

"Not tonight," Maldor shook his head. "But tomorrow night I will. The two novices who stood the middle watches last night get the first and last ones tonight so that they can sleep a bit better." He smiled grimly. "And tomorrow's exercise should provide more matter for conversation anyway."

Eilian grimaced. He did not like what they were going to force the novices to do in the morning.

While they had been speaking, Galelas had been cooking the evening meal, which was now ready. The masters joined the novices around the fire, and the meal was eaten with a minimum of conversation, for they were all tired. When they had all eaten and Legolas and Annael had washed up afterwards, they set the watches and went early to sleep. Legolas was grateful that he drew the first watch along with Tonduil. He would appreciate the unbroken rest that came afterwards, and he was deeply thankful that he did not have to spend two hours on watch with Maldor again.

They woke to dark skies and the threat of rain. Like most Wood-elves, Legolas did not mind rain as a rule, but he knew that the noise of rain might make it harder to detect an oncoming attack, and wet leaves would be slippery underfoot. As he set about gathering wood for the morning fire, he hoped that the weather would hold off until they were done with the day's exercise.

When they had completed the morning's chores, Maldor called them together. Thelion and Eilian drew near too. "As I told you yesterday," Maldor began, "today we are going to see to it that you have a captain who will lead you in devising a battle strategy and putting it into action." He paused and looked at them. Out of the corner of his eye, Legolas saw that Galelas was drawing himself up to his full height, making himself as visible as possible. He obviously hoped that Maldor would name him as the group's leader. Then, to Legolas's dismay, Maldor went on, "You may have ten minutes to choose your own captain."

They stared at him for a moment and then turned to look at one another uncertainly. After a brief pause, Tonduil spoke up. "I think that it should be Legolas," he said, startling them with his daring for the second time in as many days.

Legolas flinched slightly. He recalled Maldor's vague comments on the previous night about his leading the group. This was going to cause more problems, he thought resignedly.

Galelas snorted at Tonduil's suggestion. "Why Legolas?" he asked and then glanced quickly at the three masters, who were listening to their debate with impassive faces. Legolas, too, looked at the masters. Even Eilian's face was impossible for him to read. His brother simply gazed back at him imperturbably, and Legolas despaired of help from that direction. Not that he wanted Eilian to help him on this mission, he amended hastily.

"Legolas is good with weapons, and he does not lose his head," Tonduil was saying. His chin was set stubbornly, but he seemed unable to meet Galelas's gaze directly.

"Galelas is willing to behave boldly in defending against attackers," Isendir put in.

"His boldness did not seem to help him in yesterday's battle," said Annael mildly.

The novices had unconsciously moved into two groups, with Legolas, Annael, and Tonduil on one side, and Galelas and Isendir on the other. Galelas now glared at the three who stood across from him. "Very well," he said. "I can see how this is going to go. If you insist on naming Legolas captain, then I cannot stop you." There was a second's silence.

"Good," said Maldor briskly, stepping in to close the discussion. "Legolas it is. Now you need to devise a strategy to withstand our attack. Take some time to do so. We will wait for you to tell us when you are ready." With that, he, Thelion, and Eilian withdrew to sit on the large flat rock that they had been using as their meeting place.

The novices confronted one another for a moment in silence. "Are you pleased?" Galelas finally hissed at Legolas. "Did you get what you wanted?"

"Galelas, this is not helpful," Legolas said in exasperation. "We need to make some plans." Galelas compressed his mouth in a thin line and said nothing further, but he was obviously not happy.

Legolas drew a deep breath. "We should plan to use what we learned yesterday," he said tentatively, "and protect one another's backs. Perhaps that means we should stick together as a group and not let the masters split us up." He looked around to see if his ideas seemed reasonable to the rest of them. Galelas was looking off into the distance as if he could not even hear Legolas, but the others seemed willing to try his plan.

"Because we are an odd number, someone is always going to be without a partner," Legolas went on. "That person can come up behind an attacker or come to the aid of any of us who needs it. Isendir, you are quick. Let us plan on your taking that role if you can."

Isendir nodded, but Galelas protested immediately. "I will do that," he said.

Legolas shook his head. "Isendir is more agile," he said. For a moment, he and Galelas stared at one another.

Then Galelas laughed shortly. "Have it your way," he said bitterly. "Are we finished?"

Legolas looked around at the group. No one seemed to have anything to add. He nodded. "Yes," he said. "I think we are." He turned and walked toward where the masters sat. "I believe that we are ready," he told them.

Maldor nodded. "Good," he said. "Today, your course lies more southerly." He pointed toward a small hill in the distance. "Use that large rock on the top of the rise as your heading," he instructed. Then, without another word, he and the other two masters rose and slipped off into the woods.

After a moment, the novices too set off, with Legolas in the lead and Galelas bringing up the rear. It seemed to Legolas that they walked farther than they had the previous day. His senses were strained for any indication of the masters' approach, and he was annoyed by the fact that he could hear Galelas murmuring discontentedly to Isendir for much of the time that they were walking. Finally, he turned.

"Galelas," he snapped, "stop complaining and start watching for an attack."

Galelas was drawing breath to retort when noise of the attack came from the woods, and a moment later, the masters were upon them.

The five of them immediately drew together in a group, with Legolas and Tonduil in one pair and Galelas and Annael in another. Legolas found himself struggling with Thelion, who was using his blade in frenzied Orc attack, rather than with his customary finesse. He was elated when Isendir leapt at Thelion from behind and touched his sword tip to the master's ribs. Thelion immediately lowered his sword and stepped to one side.

Legolas glanced around to see how the others were doing and was dismayed to find that Annael was apparently "dead," having been "killed" by Eilian when Galelas allowed himself to be drawn away by Maldor. The unarmed combat master had just roughly disarmed Galelas and dispatched him with an Orc's vicious stab. In the meantime, Eilian had turned and shoved under Isendir's defense. Legolas rushed to help, but Eilian touched Isendir with his sword just as Legolas felt the tip of Maldor's sword tap his own back. Tonduil was no match for Eilian and Maldor together and soon joined his companions in simulated death and real defeat.

They had done better, but they had not done well enough. Legolas wiped the sweat wearily from his forehead with the heel of his hand and waited for the inevitable criticism from Maldor. It was not long in coming.

"Galelas," snapped Maldor, "did you pay no attention at all to the training yesterday? You left Annael's back exposed. Somehow I doubt that that was part of your battle plan."

Galelas lowered his head and muttered something inaudible.

"What was that?" asked Maldor sharply.

"We were much too passive," Galelas said more loudly.

"The position the group took was a defensive one," Maldor agreed, "and that might not have been the wisest thing to do, but as I interpret everyone's actions, your plan was to stay together, protecting one another and not allowing yourselves to be picked off one by one. That plan could have worked, but only if everyone followed it. You did not. In training, this is only a mistake. But as a warrior, you would be guilty of failing to follow orders." He glared at Galelas, who lowered his eyes again.

He looked around at the rest of them. "You did better," he said. "You see the advantage of coordinated action and the inadequacy of weapons skill alone."

From Maldor, this was high praise, and Legolas actually felt his spirits lift a little. "We will return to camp for midday meal," Maldor said. "Then this afternoon, I plan to introduce you to some unarmed combat techniques to use against an armed Orc who has just knocked your sword from your hand." Legolas blew out his breath in a weary sigh. Galelas was going to be a difficult opponent in unarmed combat for whoever was unlucky enough to draw him. While he did not wish this fate on any of his companions, he fervently hoped that he was not the unfortunate one to do so.

The walk back to camp was a long one, and on the way, rain started to fall. It was a light sprinkle at first, but it quickly turned into a torrent. By the time they reached camp, they were all soaked. There was no question of lighting a fire to cook with, so they made do with lembas, eaten under what shelter the surrounding trees would give them as they perched in the branches.

As Legolas sat leaning against the beech tree he had climbed, Maldor slipped down from his own branch. Next to him, Annael groaned. "Do you suppose that he means for us to drill in the rain?" he asked Legolas in an undertone.

As if he had heard him, Maldor turned and looked at them. "Come," he said. "This will be a good opportunity to learn about unarmed combat in wet conditions."

Legolas looked at Annael. "Yes," he said. "I think that he does." The two of them descended to the ground and, along with their three companions, moved into the cleared area of the campsite.

The afternoon's drill was long and thorough. The rain stopped halfway through it, but the ground was muddy and slippery. Galelas was as surly as Legolas had anticipated, but it was Tonduil who wound up wrestling with him. Legolas cringed as Galelas shoved the other's face into the mud. Moreover, defeating Tonduil did not seem to appease Galelas. Having Legolas chosen as the group's leader and then being singled out for a scolding by Maldor had apparently combined to leave him in a towering temper.

By the time that Maldor was satisfied with their progress, they were all filthy as well as tired. The unarmed combat master surveyed them. "Go and bathe before you begin the preparations for the evening meal," he said and sent them on their way to the river.

With the other novices, Legolas crouched fully clothed in the shallow water at the edge of the river and dunked his head to get the mud out of his hair. This was as good a way to wash his clothes as any, he thought. The day's rain had left the river flowing even wider and more swiftly than it had been, and it would not do to venture out into the current. Finally satisfied, he waded back to the shore and dried his head on the towel he had brought with him to the river's edge. He would change into dry clothes in the campsite. It was his turn to cook, so he needed to get back to the camp soon and see what supplies they had.

"I am going back now," he called to Annael, who was still splashing around with all the others. Annael waved to him, and he started up the trail to the campsite.

He had just reached the point where the trail topped the riverbank, when someone grabbed his arm from behind and spun him around, and he found himself facing a still angry Galelas. Galelas glanced toward where the masters were facing the other way halfway to the campsite on the flat rock and then dragged Legolas closer to the edge of the bank so that they would be less likely to be overheard. He took one last look at the masters and then turned to face Legolas.

"You do realize that our defeat today was your fault, do you not?" he hissed. "You were so eager to be in charge, and then all that you could come up with was a plan that left us completely on the defensive."

Legolas felt himself growing heated. "I did not hear you proposing any alternative," he snapped. "And you did not even follow the plan we had. You left Annael wide open to Eilian's attack."

Galelas released his arm and took a step backwards. "Ah, yes," he snorted. "Big brother Eilian. I noticed that he did not attack you."

"He attacked me yesterday with a great deal of relish," Legolas protested. As he was speaking, he suddenly became aware that the sodden ground was shifting under his feet. Behind Galelas, he could see a chunk of the riverbank breaking free and beginning to slide down the twenty foot drop to the rushing water.

"Watch out!" he cried and grabbing Galelas's wrist, flung him back toward safer territory. As he yanked on the heavier Galelas's arm, however, his own feet slid on the slippery grass. He let go of Galelas and grabbed wildly at a sapling that was teetering on the edge of the crumbling bank, trying to regain his footing. He was too far gone, however, and his momentum carried him on. With a cry, he slipped over the edge of the bank and disappeared.