RESISTANCE   IN ROMENNA

Paul Rose

Ileadur, House of Guldumir

The seaward promontory east of Romenna was the site where generations before the line of Goromil was led by Umarth.  Here, Umarth built a great tower upon the headland stack that jutted out of the ocean like a lost tooth or a giant obelisk.  This great tower was known as Tirith Falath, and from it did Umarth watch over the coast, and on stormy nights it was said that the beacon of Tirith Falath could be seen for many miles and many a sea captain was eternally gratefully for its guidance away from the rocks of the cliffs edge.

Now Umarth had long since given his bones to the sea as was his desire, and from him did his son Elgamoth continue for a time.  Elgamoth was less enthralled by the duty of this vigil and in time eventual , he returned the family line, with his two sons and three daughters, to Armenelos.

Guldumir, an ageing mariner, whose life had been saved by the attendance of Umarth on not just one occasion, purchased the land and tower from the disenchanted Elgamoth who sought greater glory for his boys, and richer pickings for his girls.

Guldumir was not so keen to make petty excuses to abandon a watch, and when the time came he sent his eldest son Ileadur to Armenelos to learn to become a man.

With Ileadur went Osseaid and Pedeth, she to seek education and he to become a soldier as was his hearts desire.

Now in time the military called to Ileadur and he was soon a Captain in the forces of Ar Pharazon, and he did serve truly and with loyalty for many years to attain this rank.   He was young when Sauron was enslaved and not yet a Captain when Sauron was freed, and he was not unswayed by the arguments that came out of Armenelos where still dwelled his brother Pedeth and his sister Osseiad who was married now into another Noble line within the Kings Court.

On leave from duty, Ileadur journeyed to Armenelos to seek news of his brother who had never become the mariner he had so hoped to be, after injury forbade it.  His mind was adept however and Pedeth was now a councilor and a man with whom even Pharazon was not unfamiliar.

Pedeth imparted to Ileadur that indeed word had spread that Nimloth the Fair was to be burned and this in defiance of the Valar and in rejection of the ban.  That as yet the uncertain King dithered, thinking the fate of the Tree to be joined with the fate of his House as decreed by Tar - Pharazon.  To this did Ileadur scoff, for he suffered no fools and thought Pharazon should at least have the strength of his convictions to make himself no hypocrite.

Pedeth was deep in thought at the words of his elder brother and though it was not often the case, he conceded that Ileadur had a good point indeed. 

The councilor spoke of this to friends and to others who shared the favour of the King and before long it was foretold that Ar Pharazon had heard these rumours and in seeking to restore his reputation and to maintain the support of his people he commanded that the Tree be burned at the Temple of Melkor.  This was heralded by all as the true indication of impending freedom from the tyrannical and selfish, covetous Valar who sought to keep the great men of Numenor in chains.

When Pedeth had heard of the fate of Nimloth he told his brother Ileadur and they both went to the streets before the vast silver dome to watch and witness this great deed and symbol of defiance and strength and they rallied and cheered before Sauron, whose unlooked for knowledge had given to Numenor the power to embrace its destiny and carve out a less humble existance.  To take the glory which was rightly theirs, all along!

Triumphant in this, Captain Ileadur of the Dagarim Aran rode to the coast and to Tirith Falath to seek out his father in order to share and rejoice in this news.

He arrived and took a small boat out from the headland to the tower where his father kept his long watch and there did he deliver his tidings.

" Father!" Said he. " It is Nimloth the Fair they have burned at the Temple of Melkor in Armenelos!  We are free now to pursue the West and that which lies beyond! Is this not truly wondrous news?"

Yet Guldumir’s aged face, a moment ago so full of mirth and joy at the sight of his long errant son, darkened and became as of ash, and overcast.

" What madness is this of which you speak?"  He demanded of Ileadur.

" It is not madness, father!" Ileadur defended, and he explained how the slave Sauron had revealed his secrets to the King under pain of death and that the Valar had long decieved the Men of Westernesse.  He told Guldumir of how the Valar knew of many unplundered and rich lands beyond the western shores of Aman and it was these they sought to keep for themselves.  That this ‘Eru’ was a phantom, an illusion, to keep them at bay and hold them a prisoner in the fallow east.  That the true power came from the well - spring of darkness beyond twilight and within it resides Melkor the Giver of Freedom.  That worship of Melkor would release Numenor from the fetters of the ban.

To this Guldumir roared with rage, and in his anger said he many things.  He told his son that no, for long had he been a Sea Captain ere he retired to his tower and much did he know of this Sauron.  He named his son a fool and verily did the haughty Captain shrink away in fear for such was his respect for his father.

" This Sauron is a Master of Lies!  Heed his malice not!  Long ago when he was putting forth armies against us did he slaughter those of Numenor, and he had only spite for our alliance with the Firstborn and our reverance of the Valar.  This was because of the battles in Eriador so many years past.  I was in the east when this Sauron declared himself the King of Men and assailed us.  That he is no longer in chains is a travesty and a slight upon our friendship with Gil - galad whose people suffered so much.  That his words are taken as truth over the words of the Valar themselves is a heresy I will hear no son of mine propagate.  It is likely that such poison is disguised as honey to seal our fate, and bring upon us doom.  Now you say that he was permitted to burn the White Tree?  This is insanity most profane!   Take my words to Pedeth and have him speak these in court, should reason temper Ar Pharazon’s blatant stupidity and gullible ear!"

Ileadur was struck.  Did his father know what he was saying?  All that the military man had seen of Sauron was a humble servant, from the moment of his surrender without struggle, to the time of his sharing of the secret knowledge so long withheld.

" Father!  You know not what you ask of me and you know not what you say!" He stammered.

" Think you that Ileadur, Captain of the Dagarim Aran of Andunie, knows more than Guldumir, Sea Captain of the Numenorean Fleet and older than you by many seasons, boy?"

" Father, forgive me!  I will go at once to Pedeth and have your mind spoken in the court.  Though I warn you, it will bring more trouble than harm it appeases."

With that did Ileadur take his leave and seek out Pedeth in Armenelos.  To his brother did he impart the words of Guldumir.  Now Pedeth listened and nodded and understood what his father had said better than Ileadur, who questioned little and took much action in the stead of thought.  Pedeth said he would share these concerns with trusted others and see what they had to say.  He declared that the Sea Captain Elendil. whom was regarded as a hero by many, thought likewise and was openly opposed to Sauron and the King, and also to the burning of the Tree.  Ileadur asked why this Elendil had not been arrested for sedition and Pedeth told him that the time was not yet ripe, that proof was needed and Elendil’s support was yet strong.  That all thought Elendil and his father Amandil to be most honourable for their deeds and that Pedeth counted himself a friend to Elendil and to Amandil, though he shared not all their views.

Ileadur then spent long years in Andunie, fighting those who rebelled against Ar Pharazon and the lords and he reasoned that these uprisings were not wise and that the disloyal deserved death.  Ileadur journeyed to Middle - earth on great ships with powerful Sea Captains and there plundered coasts north and south under the command of the King and rich were his holdings and famed did he become.

In time his path led him back to Armenelos where he went once more on leave to seek out his brother, who he found in dire straits.  Pedeth was under guard and incarcerated for seditious rumour and conspiracy against the courts.  This Ileadur could not believe and when he was granted to speak to his brother he asked of him how this came to be.

" Ask Amandil."  His brother answered and refused to say more.

Puzzled Ileadur did as he was told and sought out this Councilor Amandil, and there did he realise how the words of his father so long ago had taken seed.  That others had been incarcerated who shared the view that Sauron was a Lord of Lies, and not to be trusted.   Ileadur could only grieve for his brother, who was sentenced to death, being found guilty of treason, and like all the traitors he was taken to the temple to be burned.   Heavy was the heart of the Captain.

Months passed and much did he speak with Amandil and friends of Pedeth whilst he took rest from campaigns and took a wife and by her had he a son.  These he sent to Romenna to live, knowing they would be safe among Pedeth’s friends whom his brother had shared much of his last years with.  Chief among these was Isildur. 

Now Ileadur was not a deep man, and not a man who remembered all that came to him, but even he recalled his brother’s utterance of Elendil’s name and a shadow passed over him in recollection.  He pondered that friends of this Elendil had a habit of disappearing.  Or of being taken to prison and later found guilty of terrible crimes.   Yet his own experience of these men, Amandil and his sons, told him they were good of heart and better than many with whom had he had served.

He intended in the fall to take news to his father of the demise of Pedeth, yet in the late summer did Ar Pharazon send out a call to arms and it was clear that Ileadur was needed in the army.  He thought to send message instead, but did not wish to arouse suspicion with the contents that he was spreading his brother’s sedition.  His reputation was unblemished and would remain so.

As he gathered arms and waited for summons to join the fleet and set sail for the west he pondered the wisdom of it and in his mind doubted the truth of Sauron.  He trusted his instinct and his instinct strongly forbade this endeavour.  Yet he was a soldier and a Captain.  He would do the bidding of his King.  For it is the place of lesser men to be guided by those of far reaching vision. 

Then came to him news that Elendil had refused the call to arms!  That Isildur and the others of the House of Elros had defied the Kings summons!  Word spread quickly that many soldiers were to travel to Romenna, to seize Elendil and his followers and bring them to justice.

Ileadur’s wife and child were in Romenna! 

He had not time to tarry to question the integrity of the act or the meaning of it.   He simply had to ensure the safety of his love and his infant son.  He had been on the shores of Middle earth and had witnessed what happened when a House was seized.
He could not let his wife be mistaken for a traitor to the crown!

Ileadur rode for Romenna, leaving the barracks and knowing that hellfire was in his wake, and it was bound for the House of Elros...

He rode on a midnight stallion, with the thunder of the darkness in his wake, a darkness disguised even to itself in raiment of red and of gold.  They thought they were the forces of the Royal Army of Armenelos, the Dagarim Aran of Numenor, and servants to Ar Pharazon.  They were in truth slaves to Melkor, doing the bidding of their jailor through his vassal’s deeds.  Even Ileadur did not know this.  He was a slave too, in a different way.

The road was paved and arched with trees of the culumalda and these were shadowed in the encroaching twilight and they cast an amber glow. 

The coast was far enough for his journey to take the whole of the night and he would arrive the next day in the Royal Port of Romenna.  The Captain shifted uneasily in the saddle and stood in his stirrups now, pushing his horse harder and harder, knowing that every moment gained would be one moment more he would have to find his wife and save her and his son.

As darkness took the forest road Ileadur galloped on and could hear no longer the city of the Kings.  Upon the road he was surprised to see riders!  Riders bearing a hooded captive in a white dress. 

Ileadur slowed his mount and tarried on his journey, aware of how strange it might seem for an isolated soldier to be bound for Romenna at this hour.

One of the riders saluted him as he approached and he called a halt to the line.

" Hail, Captain!" Said the man.  " This one is bound for the Temple!   It is time she answered to Melkor!"

Captain Ileadur felt sick to the stomach.  They were going to burn this woman.

" And what are her crimes, Corporal?"  He asked of the man, whose insignia could clearly be made out in the dying embers of the day.

" She is a witch who laid curse upon the Lieutenant.  We hath slain her husband and her heathen child that put a slight upon the name of Pharazon.  She shall answer to Melkor who shall judge her for the murder of the Lieutenant."

The woman writhed in bond.

" And what of the Lieutenant?"  Asked Ileadur, curious as to the reason for the claim of witchcraft.

" He fell from his horse and broke his neck, sir!"  Spoke the Corporal.

" Broke his neck you say?  That is unfortunate and ill tidings indeed, yet I fail to see how this woman is involved."  Reasoned Ileadur.

" Ah well, sir, just the other day we rode through her village with orders to search out those traitors who would spread lies about Ar Pharazon and his court.  The Lieutenant was searching the house of this she - devil.  There was a great commotion and the Lieutenant came out stony faced with the woman shouting at him.  She said very clearly that she hoped that the Lieutenant would fall from his horse and break his neck, and by the Oaths if come this morning he had not done just that!"

The woman writhed some more.

Ileadur was about to ask the woman if this was true, but he knew it must have been, by the way she thrashed and made mongrel yells.  She was a wild thing, not a woman.   Clearly a witch as the Corporal had said.

" Very good, Corporal, if she must die then let it be by the decree of Melkor!"   Ileadur then readied to spur on his horse.

" Captain there are those who would call themselves the Faithful who refuse to listen to the words of the King or heed the unveiled truth of the Undying Lands and the treacherous, deceitful Valar.  These men dishonour themselves and their lines by refusing to sail and fight against our enemies.  Be warned, for they will go so far as to kill for their cowardice and they have set watch upon the road."

The Corporal clearly was hesitant to question him and his purpose for riding east.

" Thank you Corporal, I will be mindful of this."  Ileadur stated with gratitude.  " If any such heretic speaks such lies in my presence I shall hew his tongue from his mouth and feed it back to him, whilst those who were taken in by his deceit stood and watched."

" I do not doubt it Captain Ileadur."  Said the Corporal, and instantly Ileadur knew he had not long.  The Corporal would mention this to somebody and before long they would know he had come this way.

" I must take my leave of you men.  See to it that this fiend answers for her sins."

The Corporal saluted and the Captain spurred his horse on now, and rode ever more speedily for Romenna.

As the sun came up on the black night that had passed, Ileadur was riding through small farms and hamlets on the edge of the great port and the stone buildings he could see warmed his freezing heart.  He might yet save his wife and child.

The lone rider wearing the raiment of a Captain of the Royal Army of Armenelos crested the road that led to Romenna and was beheld in the misty morn by the heralds of Elendil the Tall.

These heralds came forth and raised their hands, in a likeness of the Argonath that Ileadur would never see.

" Halt rider!  You wear the raiment of the Dagarim Aran of Andunie and our Lord decrees you are not welcome in this port!"  Came the voice of one man, strong and steady in crisp morning.

" State your purpose, for great have been the misdeeds of those under the banner of Pharazon!  The King and his Master have our Lord's answer."

Ileadur reigned in his horse and stared at these two as if they were madman.  He could scarce bring himself to believe the affront to his status!

" Then the rumours are truth!" Sneered Ileadur.  " I am Captain Ileadur of the Dagarim Aran, and I am stationed in Armenelos, and no longer Andunie.   I am not beholden to your yellow bellied Lord and I know not what madness has gone unpunished by Amandil, for I know him to be a goodly man.  I warn you that the King has made orders for a contingent of soldiers to seek out your fisherman and bring him to his knees for his cowardice.  Now stand aside, unless you mean to bring weapons to bear upon a loyal servant of the crown!"  This last was almost a shout, as his voice grew in anger and ill temper.

" We are no cowards and niether is our Lord Elendil!"  Bespoke one herald.

" You shall pass no further, he who would do the bidding of the one that desires to break the oath and heed not the peril of the ban.  The Valar ..."

" I shall not be spoken to like I am the turncoat!  You are a Believer of lies and sycophant to the greedy Gods of avarice.  Drown in your misery, dog!"   Yelled Ileadur, spurring his horse on, which stood on hind legs as he drew his blade.

The Captain of the Dagarim Aran of Armenelos struck each herald swiftly, his horse coming down over the top of one and crushing his bones in his armour, with sickening sound.   The other herald jabbed upward with his spear but there came a clang from the shield of Ileadur as he skilfully deflected.  Smashing his heavy sword down and cleaving half of the mans helm away, along with fragments of skull, Ileadur bellowed as he galloped on!

" Drown in blood, obstinate heathen!"  Ileadur rode on as the sun slowly climbed the skies.  Such impious intolerance would he no longer bear.

And so it was that Ileadur arrived in the crisp morning at the mist shrouded village south west of the port, having avoided and curtailed Elendil’s war bands and mercenaries whom quite hypocritically claimed themselves faithful, when they had turned on their own King, their own people.  The greatest call to arms in the history of Numenor and Elendil the Tall had turned coward.  That was not faith!  That was the worst kind of heresy!

His blood boiled with vehement anger at the misdeeds of the House of Elros, and he bore a face like thunder with heart beating fast, adrenalin coursing through his veins and lending him an otherworldly degree of heightened senses.

He was aware of everything as he journeyed along the winding path through the green hills of the scattered settlements and farmhouses.  Sheepherders who beheld him were glad to be not on the road and travellers that were on the road soon parted from it to allow him passage.

As he broke from his gallop to a canter the village surrounded him and he saw many small buildings all of which were catering to the basic necessities of local life, beyond them and round about were the homes of the residents.

The village hall was witness to a sight that ordinarily would have bred confidence within the Captain but on this day and for the first time in all of his years did not.   Crimson and gold clad soldiers, the raiment of Armenelos, the Dagarim Aran.

There were a dozen soldiers here and they had rounded up several of the local men and were herding them into the hall, with force in most cases.  Those who resisted were quick to receive their comeuppance.

Warm blood rushed to his head as he realised he would appear most conspicuous lest he make a pretence of being here officially.  He could not simply tether his horse by the hall and walk away to seek his wife and child.  He was too late, and quite possibly his wife and child were within the hall already, mistaken for heathens and traitors to the crown.  It was as if the drums of a march were beating in his skull.

" Captain!"  A voice rang out, breaking his reverie.  He was on approach and one of the soldiers had spotted him, having seen to it that the last few men of the village were safely on their way into the hall.  " We were not expecting one of your rank!  The Sergeant is at breakfast.  Shall I fetch him?"

Ileadur looked down upon the figure by the great wooden doors and dismounted as he reined in his horse.

" No soldier that will not be necessary."  He said in a calm and authoritative tone.

Yet the soldier seemed to find such response to be aloof.

" What is the purpose of your coming here, then Captain, if I may ask?" By now his counterpart stood at his side and as Ileadur tied the reins to the post he glanced at both men, and did his best to exude confident purpose.

" I am here to conduct an inspection of the captives.  I wish to see the traitors for myself, for the Lord Sauron desires that I seek for one known reprobate in particular."  He lied, and felt foolish for doing so!  He was here and lying to men in his own livery!  His subordinates!

Yet as he made move forward the soldiers held out arms in restraint, though as he caught himself, no restraint was necessary.  His eyebrows drew together in a scowl.

" I apologise Captain, but none shall pass within the hall that are not part of the Sergeants regiment.  Those are his orders!"

" And who is this Sergeant?"  He sneered, wishing to know whose name he should curse for such thoroughness.

" His name is Nilzulur.  I feel certain he will grant you access to the hall.   I shall fetch him at once!"

Nilzulur!  His was name known well by Ileadur for he had one or two run in with the man himself, in his younger days.

" Forget it soldier!  I do not wish to interrupt the good Sergeant."   Ileadur had a plan.  " We can all save time if you answer my question."

" Yes Captain?"  The man faced front and appeared curious.

" The reprobate is said to inhabit the House of Elmuril, has that house or those near to it been searched for traitors?  Sympathisers to the rebel cause?"  Said he, naming the house which neighboured that of his wife.

" No sir, not by us, the Sergeant has not concerned himself with such places."

The relief washed over Ileadur and made him giddy.  He stopped himself from showing outward sign of this.

" Very well.  Thank you for you assistance."  Ileadur turned, intent on going to the house and ensuring that his wife and son were well.

" Where for are you bound, Captain?"  Asked the soldier.  " For if it is in search of this reprobate we should be honoured in doing a service for the Lord Sauron himself!  I insist we help!"

There was little Ileadur could do but acquiesce to this, and so when other guards arrived to grant these two relief, the three men set out for the House of Elmuril.

Now it happened to be that Elmuril was a mariner and one who served Isildur.   Ileadur knew that Elmuril would be to port at this time.  Thus when they came to the outer garden of his home, Ileadur bid both soldiers stop at the gate and he himself went alone up to the threshold. 

" Elmuril, it is I, Ileadur! " He called.  " Open up!"  He hammered with his fist and made a show of it.  Looking back over his shoulder he saw both soldiers stiffening, as if in readiness, and only one of the two seemed suspicious.   Even so it was more like to be suspicion of the house than of the Captain.

" I will call out if I need you!"  He told the sentries.

Ileadur bore his bulk upon the door and broke it in. Shortly thereafter he disappeared within, at last out of the scrutinising gaze of the soldiers. 

He hurriedly advanced through the house and slipped out the back via the rear door from the kitchen and pantry.  Crossing the leafy garden he walked to the rear of his wife’s house and withdrew his key, to unlock the door, when his heart stopped.  He had until then felt that the ill omen of having two obstinately persistent guards was a curse he had broken.  He had felt close to self - congratulatory pride in this.  Now that vanished fast. 

For as Ileadur reached forth with his key, he saw that the back door had been broken away from the frame, a hole in it where the lock still had purchase.  The door was swinging freely, yet heavily; ajar.

Rapidly he went within and soon came he to the master bedroom where he found signs of a struggle.  The bed was a mess and the room in disarray.  His wife was not there.

In the crib, lying caked in blood, was his infant son...

His heart stopped, his breath escaped him, the blood rushed to his head once more, stronger this time, making him dizzy enough to feel about to swoon.  The room seemed to spin.  His face flushed.  His legs felt like they would not sustain his weight.  Ileadur dropped to his knees, and sagged over the crib, suddenly sobbing, his chest was heaving.  His hands were not his own as he saw them reach out and lift the cold, stiff child.  He stared into the dead face, and his tears, hot and salty, stung his lips and fell away. 

And long did he remain there, holding onto his dead son, sobs both deep and sorrowful tearing him apart.

The hallway swam before his eyes.  Long had he remained there, it did seem.  He was a danger to himself now and outside the soldiers of Nilzulur would be growing suspicious.   Where was his wife?  Who had done this and why? 

He made it down the stairs and to the hall that led to the foyer where he found a stricken man whom he recognised at once to be one of Elendil's mariners out of Romenna.  What was he doing here?

Stooping over the body of the man, he saw that the savage hacks at his limbs had killed him, and his sword lie battered and notched upon the floor.  This was madness!

Angry beyond anything he had ever felt, Ileadur came out of the front door without thought for his prior subterfuge.  He wanted answers!

The two soldiers on watch over the House of Elmuril stood with mouths agape, as the torrent of rage that was Ileadur came not from that house named but the neighbouring House of Hante.  They stepped toward the Captain.

Ileadur crashed through the gate before them and bellowed his fury.

" Who killed the man and the child in that house?"  He demanded.   " Tell me now!"

The two soldiers were startled and did not think.  They simply cowered from his wrath and answered.

" Sir, the day before yesterday, a witch from the House cursed the Lieutenant who searched it.  He died shortly after as a result of that curse.  The man within and her heathen child were put to sword after they all three resisted arrest!"

" How does an infant boy resist arrest?"  He thundered.

" Erm..."

" Who did it?  Who did the killing?"  Ileadur was insane with anger and grief.

" Sergeant Nilzulur."  Stated one of the soldiers.

" I shall be paying this Sergeant of yours a visit!"  Ileadur spat vehemently.  " What of the ' witch'?"  He interrogated; then it came to him!

On the road, the Corporal!  " She is a witch who laid curse upon the Lieutenant.   We hath slain her husband and her heathen child that put a slight upon the name of Pharazon.  She shall answer to Melkor who shall judge her for the murder of the Lieutenant."  He had said...

" She was taken to the temple to be burned, sir!"  One of the soldiers was saying, but Ileadur emitted a whelp as if he were a hound who had been kicked.

His head pounded and suddenly he was running.  He did not stop until he came upon the hall wherein the Sergeant was concluding his breakfast, and was cleaning his fingers and mouth with a napkin.

The Guards outside tried to stop him.

" I demand to see the Sergeant!"  He bellowed as the other soldiers scurried along after him in his wake looking seriously confused.

" Captain, you may not enter until you explain..."  The man never finished for Ileadur thundered past him, and went right on thundering until he was stood before the Sergeant who sprang up, red faced.

" What is the meaning of this? " He shouted.

Ileadur drew his sword and advanced, as soldiers headed to the room the Sergeant had taken as his own.

They arrived in time to witness Nilzulur's death, and his severed head rolling across the floorboards now wet with his blood.

" There is no meaning to this!  The same as there is no meaning to your taking the life of my infant son!"

The Soldiers and Guards at the doors stood with their mouths open, unable to speak.   Then they raised their weapons!  They had just seen a Captain slay a Sergeant in cold blood.

Ileadur turned to confront them.

" Any of you dogs want to die today, let me know!  I am in the mood for killing!"  Ileadur challenged...
The men fell back, fearing his blade, but Ileadur knew that would not last for long. 

The Captain strode forward and lifted the severed head of the Sergeant by the knotted mane of his hair. He held aloft the dismembered head for all to see.

The soldier’s eyes grew wide with terror and their mouths fell agape.  They took a step backwards and were in the doorway.

Ileadur was as of a madman, and he laughed at them.

He threw then the head through the windows overlooking the courtyard and in a swift bound, as the glass crashed outward, he leaped beyond and was away.

The soldiers stood in place for a moment in disbelief and shock.  They were too numb to move.

Outside the whinny of horses told its tale as Ileadur dashed past incredulous and uncomprehending stable hands to reach his horse and then, as a man stood near to it, he lashed out and knocked him cold.

Mounting the horse he spurred it into motion and turning it about he dug in his heel, and the horse carried him from the village with thunder.

My wife is no witch! My wife is no witch!

The thought thundered through his mind as he rode and his heart dwelt on much anger and wrath at the Sergeant, who lay pooling his lifeblood upon the cold flagstones of the Hall in his wake. The blood was rushing through his veins faster than ever.

This man who would slay a child, an infant boy, for  ‘resisting arrest’ and then who would sit calmly and gluttonously to breakfast the next morn as if he had done little more than cuff the wrist of the one he had killed so villainously!

Ileadur wanted justice, yet what had he done?  He was a Captain of the Royal Army of Armenelos! The self same army that the Sergeant whom had carried out this deed also served! He had little choice but to ride like the wind for the capital city, which he must reach ere word of his own misdeeds carried forth.  He must find his wife, whose name was Hisiemire, before she was brought to the Dome atop the Temple of Melkor and taken to the altar. She would be not soaking the stones of that fell place with her blood as a sacrifice, not on the life of Ileadur.

As afternoon faded to evening shade he journeyed on, the road about sheltered by the boughs of the culumalda, whose amber array were a blur as he pushed his steed on harder and harder, bound for Armenelos. Anger and hatred burned in him unabated, such that his mind raced and the passions in him were so great that he paid no heed to the passing of the day, he would ride on into the night and reach his destination before it was too late and like the wildfire in his veins, he would beat the wildfire of ill rumour that was upon his heels.

Yet even as he journeyed the skies darkened overhead and a great shroud fell across the lands about him and the countryside plunged into blackness, for a cloud shaped in the likeness of an eagle spread out to the west and covered the skies so that no raiment of stars or firmament could be viewed. The pinions of this eagle spread north to south and engulfed the Island as lightning began to fork from the ether.

Ileadur pushed on, his steed thundering and drawing on reserves of energy that went unbounded. The city up ahead could only be seen by the dim light of the lamps atop the great wall, which was called the Ring Wall, and encompassed the settlement. There he beheld the great eastern gate and the watchmen called to him not, of those whom he had sighted. For the darkness now was great and the fear of the soldiers and guards on duty even greater as upon the galloping steed he closed ground.

Lightning then crashed into the battlements and men screamed and burned, as stone and masonry gave way and split asunder, and the chaos reigned over the entrance to the city. Despite parlous journey Ileadur spurred his horse on and came then galloping ever onward, through the gatehouse which was now broken and lay open, as men about cried out to each other in confusion and consternation.

A grey hand seemed to reach up to the west, from the Temple, where the furnace even now must be aflame and fed with the lives of the sacrifices to appease Melkor and Ileadur knew not the consequence of the hour nor had time enough to reflect upon what was happening. All he could see was dark and the flickering faerie fires of the lamplights circling the streets, but there were no fays to keep the lights illuminating the surroundings, as one by one they were snuffed out as forks of lightning speared them and the darkness deepened.

Racing now through city streets as men and women cried out in terror and sought the seeming safety of their homes and of cellars beneath inns, and buildings were rent and smouldering did Ileadur come upon the Temple, where a great throng was gathered. Soldiers and overseers of slaves linked by chains and fetters stood aghast as above them eagles swooped, great and powerful, of the Lords of the West and the lightning fell from beneath their wings!

Ileadur dismounted and stood beneath the eaves of a Guild house and beheld the many steps before the Temple and the gathering as it dispersed, lightning pouring down into the throng and many soldiers and overseers were struck dead by the wrath of the Valar and of Manwe in particular.

He looked to see a fiery bolt descend and crack against the great silver Dome of the Temple of Melkor, which split asunder and began to plummet to the earth. Debris and smelted metal, stone chippings and rubble, cascaded and killed many of the men surrounding the doors of the Temple.

" Save us!" They cried out. " We are doomed!"

This broke the reverie of Ileadur and he rushed then forth and up the steps to the threshold of the doors that stood open as overseers forced the slaves on into the belly of the Temple. These he slew as he rushed into the Temple atrium and scoured the lines of the forsaken for his wife but he could see Hisiemire not. His heart thumped in his chest and his mind whirled and his sword flashed each time any man came close enough to try to hinder him.

Then it was she who bespied him and she called out.

”IIeadur!”

He rushed to her, along the voluminous high corridor until he sighted that there she stood, part of a chain unmoving. The overseers were gone, perished or in fear, had fled. A vast column of black stone had crashed after splintering off from the masonry and landed upon the slaves. Now Hisiemire was pinned to this line and Ileadur smote the chain with his sword, but the chain did not break.

A child, now lifeless, lay on the stone; dead weight. Beyond were men and women, pulling on the restraints beneath the rock. Ileadur pulled too until the fetters bit deep into the wrist of his wife and she screamed. Yet even so Hisiemire herself was pulling on the chain and their efforts continued until they could advance to threshold.

" He is a God!" A soldier shouted against the thunder that boomed and the crash of lightning, and Ileadur looked about in panic. The soldiers were looking up to the sky and there on the pinnacle where the Dome had been stood was Sauron, his arms spread wide, in defiance of the Lords of the West and the lightning of their eagles.

" Save us O Lord! We shall do your bidding!" They cried out, imploring Sauron.

Ileadur had not time for this. He met the eyes of Hisiemire whose face was covered in ash and tears.

" Carry the dead boy!" Called a strong man, who was next in the line.    He barked out this order in the frenzied chaos as if it were perfectly normal for a Captain of the Royal Army to assist slaves. " Then we shall pull harder than before lest we all perish here!"

Ileadur lifted the lifeless child in frenzy, taking the burden of the dead weight, and the chained slaves advanced further to the precipice of the stairs beyond the Temple and the threshold of the doors but it was to no avail! The chains were running beneath the rock in the High Corridor and the broken bodies of slaves held them in place.

Above, Sauron stood, on his pinnacle, defying the Valar, and lightning poured down upon him yet refracted about him as if through a prism, and men once more called him a God and swore to do his bidding evermore if he led them now from doom. And this speared lightning cascaded in dazzling splinters of light from the figure above and he stood ever defiant and unharmed.

In this moment came possible salvation. Lightning forked out in all directions from the figure of Sauron, as the eagles overhead swooped and circled.  One blast caught the strong man who was killed utterly. He fell dead. Hisiemire was in the arms of Ileadur who had released the boy, and now when next they looked to the line, they were the last alive upon it and the links were severed. Hisiemire was now chained only to the dead boy and the strong man. Ileadur did what any soldier would.

Knowing his blade unable to sever the chain, he severed instead the wrists of the dead boy and the strong man, and so lifted the remnant of the oppressive chain, and wrapped it about himself, as lightning continued to fall and plunge down from above, and the clamour about had risen to fever pitch along with the confusion and the chaos.

Hisiemire and Ileadur fled into the darkening city streets, as the lights went out in Armenelos...

The dead smith was lying on the floor, blood thick and now congealed about the welt upon his temple. The sound of clanging had not faltered however, as Ileadur set about his grim task and Hisiemire cowered from her husband and his wild eyes, as he worked such tools as were available to free her of the weight of chains and manacles. Sweat poured from his darkened and grime smeared face, passion burning in his fever.   He was feeling as though a form of madness were upon him. Unsettling, real, aware of it, unable to stop it. There was rage, jealousy, pain, and grief. Ileadur was made primal, a barrier of feral strength to stave the chilling touch of fear, and the unknown, and that which indubitably was known. That which was beyond refute, and no argument was forthcoming from Ileadur, if argument existed.

She had never seen him like this, so wild and untamed and so detached from reason. She shook, be it from cold or from her fright, or through realisation of all that had come to pass, and all that was now irreversible. Her child was dead. Their child. Though what kind of father Ileadur would have made or had potential to become she knew not, for he was too long away, pursuing his boys dreams of power and glory in lands overseas. To return a hero. And what was a hero but a man of quality?

She had heard tell of the deeds of the fleets and thought them not to display quality. Yet he had courage and for this she did love him. He had saved her from the temple, from burning. He had slain soldiers for her. What he had seen in Romenna to prompt this she could only guess.

The chains were off. He looked upon the dead man. The smith had seen a crazed slave on the run with a traitor, and had sought to bring him down with the hammer. That had been a mistake. But looking upon the cold eyes staring up with their expression of surprise, Ileadur felt nothing. No guilt. No responsibility. The man had made a poor choice and suffered the consequence. There was nothing more to it...

" Get up!" he hissed at her. " We must escape, if we are found I have saved us from the fire this night, only for us to burn when the flames burn higher on the morrow."

She failed to move, she was afraid. He snatched at her, and yanked her up, and pulled her along the alleys of Armenelos in the darkness, saying naught. Naught until he cast her down stone steps and she crashed to the paved ground. He booted upon the chained door and it broke away; they were soon in the deeper darkness of the basement of some unknown house or Inn. A derelict place, perhaps, she heard rats in the recesses, scurrying, squeaking.

" What is going on? How is it you came to be accused of sorcery?" he demanded, fury in his voice.

Sorcery! It had been him on the road! She knew it! Why had he not recognised her?

" I was accused, Ileadur, but that does not make me guilty of such you fool!" She replied too hastily.

He struck her face hard. She collapsed again.

" Fool, am I? Well no doubt you think so!" He retorted and she screamed up at him.

" What man would not recognise his wife? You left me in their clutches! You condemned me much the same as if you were putting me to the fire yourself!"

He stood in impotent rage, fists balled.

" I gave up everything I ever fought for to save your wretched hide!" He scowled. " And you call me a fool, to not recognise you bound and gagged and hooded! I am not a fool!" He kicked at her.

She cried out. Oh, by the Valar what was happening? She wished only to be in his arms...

" I am sorry, you are not a fool, Ileadur! I was just...just so frightened!" She cried.

" Not a fool..." He caught himself, and his mind reeled. How could he be so stupid?

" The soldier said you resisted, you and your husband! By the Powers I have been blind! I am a fool!" Said he.

" You what?" She didnt understand, and she was terrified. " You make no sense!"

" The man. The man you were with! You betrayed me! You whore!" he spat on her. " Does it pain you to know that your ' husband' is dead? He who would be the man you chose to cuckold me with!" He snapped, and there came a crash and a thud as something landed on the damp floor. Something else skittered and rolled across the cellar.

She cried now, hot tears! Oh, how could he think that?

" Ileadur! He was my protector! Nothing more! Sent by Amandil long ago, to watch over me! The soldiers came for him!" She knew it sounded like lies, but it was true!

" Some protector!" He scoffed, choking on his rage... His mind lingered, the child, his son, dead in his hands… Then he recalled the man who had been slain in the hallway. " One of Amandil's so called Faithful, eh?" He breathed deeply, the anger ebbing from him, tears in his own eyes now.

She looked upon him and could make out nothing, but she could sense his very heartbeat through the pain of her bruises and cuts.

" Eru save us..." She whimpered in the cold. " Our child is dead...." She whispered almost inaudibly. A silence followed.

" I know." He said, and she heard his sword fall from his hand. Her eyes widened for a moment. Had he drawn it to kill her? She did not even wish to know.

He sank to his knees and groped for her. His fingers found her leg and he traced her form in the blackness. She almost flinched away. Then she had her wish.
Ileadur wrapped her up in his arms and held her tight, almost too tight. He smelled dirty. He felt strong. She cried more freely now, and shuddered between breaths.

She could not see it, but silent tears streamed down his face also. He was shaking...

The next words he spoke startled her all the more.

" Forgive me.” He said. " Forgive me, my love, please..." He rocked her in his embrace, and she knew not who was comforting whom anymore.

The morning came with a red dawn. The light filtering into the cellar from the broken door spoke of blood and rage. It spoke of the Wrath of the Valar, at the deceit unfolding, and the treachery yet to be consummated.

She did not know how long she had slept there, the drumming of his heart and the steady rhythm of his breathing in her ear. She just knew that she was glad to be reunited with him. For even though she sported bruises and cuts he had inflicted, she could not feel them. In part she felt responsible for the death of their son, and she had been shaken by the anger of Ileadur. He was not the man she had wed, but a shadow of that man. Yet that man had a heart of gold, and had simply been misled by those he put his faith in. People such as Ar Pharazon, the word of the King and the wisdom of the King, had he put his faith in.  Wisdom turned to madness by avarice, impending doom, and the soft lie of Sauron the Deciever.

She had spent many summers in Romenna, had attended secret meetings and been kindly looked after by Elendil the Tall and his sons, and the men who believed that the Ban of the Valar was just, and with reason. That lands Undying were not for mortal men.

She knew that the first fruits of the sapling taken by Isildur had blossomed and that with that did his wounds verily heal. She had seen this as a sign from the Valar, as had many who knew of it.

Ileadur knew this not, nor could he, for he was a danger. Loyalty was in his blood. So going against that loyalty and breaking his oath to his King was about the hardest deed any man could ask of him. Yet he had done it. The fact that he had done it of his own accord spoke volumes, and she loved him still.

She wondered if he had slept, or sat staring into the darkness of the cellar listening to the rats all night. By the look upon his tired face, she thought the latter most likely.

" Did you sleep?" She ventured, her voice a whisper.

" I could not sleep." He answered, his voice angry. It seemed she angered him, without even doing anything to provoke it.

" Given your dalliance with the rebels in Romenna, I had best get you back to their embrace. I make myself a part of your treachery to the Giver of Freedom, so I may as well make myself a prisoner to your choice…"

She broke away from him and looked him in the eye, in the red glow of the dawn.

" What Freedom does this Melkor give?" She attacked, suddenly wanting to hit him. " Was it that our people killed each other before Lord Sauron spoke of his teachings? Was it that our own blood collected lambs from the fold to burn atop the Meneltarma prior to this worship of the Darkness?"

Ileadur rose up and paced, angrily stealing a sidelong look at his wife.

" Iluvatar is a phantom, an illusion, a lie!" He shook once again and Hisiemire sensed that Ileadur was not simply trying to convince her, but perhaps also to convince himself. " Don’t you see? The Valar have kept the lands Undying to themselves, and who knows what paradise beyond? We have been condemned to die as mortals would, by their doctrine, their ban! We live in fear of some ghost, whilst they laugh at us from afar! With their feigned gifts and their honeyed words, and their allusions to some greater power! They fear us, Hisiemire! They are only afraid to share in their wealth, lest we rest it from them! Open your eyes woman!"

Hisiemire was confused. Could this be so? She had heard parts of this, and knew the how and why of the worship of Melkor practiced now throughout the Land of the Star, at the behest of Ar Pharazon the Golden.

" Iluvatar must not be gainsaid!" She argued. " For his is the voice of the Creator, Ileadur! Mortality is a gift!"

" Tell that to my son!" He growled, wolfishly…

She cried again, and she frowned, for she felt bitter pain now.

" The Valar know of Pharazon’s intent. They have seen the fleets. They must have, last night proves it! This is the working of Eru Iluvatar, and he is angry!" She pleaded.

" If the Valar know of this plan to claim what is rightfully ours, then of course they would try to thwart it. There is no Iluvatar! This was a pre - emptive strike designed to make us cower in fear and abide by their ban! We will not brook such oppression, such tactics." He sighed. Tension draining out of him.

" I know you don’t understand this Hisiemire and I will take you to Romenna if that is your wish, and deliver you to this Spy of the Valar, who is most like an agent of the Spies of the Valar. I will do this because I love you deeply. More than you shall ever know. If it is what you desire then it shall be so."

" I want you to come with me!" She implored. " To accept the truth!"

He rounded on her angrily once more.

" To accept your lies!" He shouted. Then he stopped.

" You are a woman, who has lived most of her life sheltered from these things, and I know you cannot comprehend their meaning. These lies are ingrained in you and you believe them. As do these rebels, who will not respond to the summons of their King. Last night proves only that the Valar fear us more than we do them. This is why they have killed so many innocents with the Eagles. That is the work of Manwe and not Iluvatar. It proves to me, as if further proof were needed, that Sauron speaks true. The road to Freedom is paved in blood, for we have jailors to overthrow. They are powerful, but they are few. We are many. We shall prevail."

With that, he went outside, leaving Hisiemire to her mourning.

He did not come back until near to sunset.

He brought with him food and he was no longer in his armour, for he purchased clothes.

" Put this on." He said to her, and he handed to her garments so that she may change and soon after eating they departed the squalor of the cellar.

They stayed that night at a tavern on the outskirts of the city.

" The King has sailed." He told her. " The fleet has departed for the West, and the skies have been aflame from dawn to dusk."

This last she knew, and she saw it as further sign, but Ileadur would not hear of it.

" But Ileadur, these men killed your brother, your father would not hear their lies, they killed our son…" She found herself near to tears once more in their room.

" My father believes the lies too, as did Pedeth. You were in the house of a rebel. What do you expect?"

She fell silent. Ileadur would not accept that he could be wrong, and these few others be right.

" You will still take me to Romenna?" She asked nervously.

" I will do as I have told you, but I will not become a part of their betrayal more than I have. I will tell my superiors I was accosted and escaped. In that way, when this is all over, I will find you and we will be together again. You will know then that I was right."

He said this with utter conviction.

Dawn on the next day came bitter and chill, unseasonably. Soldiers were busy moving to and fro, and the fires at the Temple of the Giver of Freedom burned bright. Ileadur discovered that many men had been sent to Romenna to bring Elendil and his sons to justice. It was no longer safe to journey that way and he would not easily bend to his word of the day before.

Three more days did they spend at the Tavern, until Ileadur was almost out of coin, then they gathered what they needed and finally Hisiemire witnessed Ileadur finally come true to his word.

On the fifth day they set out on foot, over the rolling hills and moors, toward Romenna, for Ileadur reasoned that soldiers would use the roads, and that the countryside would prove less parlous.

They spent much of their time in the wilderness, and she was unused to such hardships yet she bore it well, and they struggled on their way, covering the leagues between Armenelos and Romenna. It took them eight days, for it was over one hundred miles, and farther than the small village where Hisiemire had been dwelling.

Finally, fourteen days after the Eagles of Manwe had assailed the Island, the tall masts of the ships in the harbour could be seen, and the city about. Signs of battle were not yet obvious, though a line of infantry could be seen nestled in the vales. Ileadur looked upon this grimly.

" Elendil and his sons will offer you little protection when these soldiers come to claim them."
Ileadur forewarned. " We will wait in these hills and watch from this vantage point. I will not deliver you into death."

She begged him to let her go to Romenna now and warn Elendil. He told her that if Elendil knew not of these soldiers then he was no leader of men.

So they watched and waited, and Ileadur brooded for long hours. The land was bounteous and for much time was Ileadur away on the hunt for food, and in these times did Hisiemire fight an inner battle not to flee for Romenna.

On the sixth day of their watch the soldiers of the Dagarim Aran Armenelos moved into Romenna and a bloody battle ensued. Skirmishes broke out. Fires were lit, and buildings were burned. Many times did the screams of the dying echo into the hills where they were camped, and the glow of amber flame was evident in the dark of night.

However Ileadur was proved wrong, and the soldiers were repelled. Their Captain ordering retreat after eight days of battle. Finally Ileadur and Hisiemire could descend from the hills and seek out the Faithful in Romenna.

They sought them on the following day at the dwellings of the House of Elros Tar Minyatar, but found the building in ruin.

The people round about eyed them with suspicion, as they had seen them not in Romenna before, and so by chance it came to pass that in his ship made ready and waiting, Elendil the Tall came to hear of two travellers who sought him out. Yet he was no fool, and knew that Sauron was ever cunning. He feared these travellers could be spies sent to bring him out, from the cove where he had laid concealed with his ships and with the others of the Faithful.

Nevertheless, in time he sent a man to speak with the pair, and this herald brought back news from Hisiemire. Her guardian and friend, Brannidor, had perished at the hands of soldiers, and she had been taken to the Temple. Ileadur had saved her, but was of the army.

Now Elendil knew of Ileadur, and of his father, Guldumir. So he saw to it that Ileadur was brought to him with his wife, and unarmed.

" I follow the advice of my father, " Said Elendil in that hour, " and I question not his wisdom, nor his reason. I am forbidden to speak of whence my father has gone, let it be known however that we are ready to sail from the Land of the Star rather than suffer its fate under this King, and his Chief Advisor. There is folly in breaking this ban, and it is a folly that shall incur great wrath as has been warned by the Valar, and it is not for mortals to question."

Ileadur for his part remained silent, and to his credit, for he did this out of love dear to his heart.

" We will ensure Hisiemire’s safety as best we may. For nothing is made certain in these times. To win us to our harm, our King has been offered promises of all that he desires, for long grow his days and as comes to all of Men when the candle burns low, an end is in sight. It is an end he is deceived that he can rewrite, by claiming the Undying Lands and immortality. It shall not be the end which is sought that comes to pass, and of this I am certain and yet it is with these poisons coursing through him that Pharazon condemns our people to this abandonment to the Wrath of the Valar, by his misdeeds."

Ileadur listened to Elendil and met his gaze, this piercing blue eyes, and he smiled, though without warmth.

" Elendil, if what you say comes to pass, and the Valar destroy our land, then they would kill many innocent of any indiscretion. Only those in the Fleet have broken the ban."

" But all shall suffer the consequences." Elendil said.

" Then I would question any justice in that, and by token believe that the Valar do indeed wish to keep us to our Island, and to the east. Melkor is the Giver of Freedom, and will be remembered for that."

To this came forth Isildur.

" Although I understand what you are saying, Ileadur, this Melkor is of Darkness and in Darkness alone does all that lives to nourish us die. Without light, all life is extinguished, and think on that."

Elendil looked then to Isildur, and was proud of his son, for Isildur had saved the White Tree, and had brought hope with him, when he delivered to them the fruit. In his words now there was a wisdom.

" When that which we desire is offered to us, and yet to take that which is offered requires the breaking of an oath, it is in this way that all oaths that are broken become so. There is a price to pay for the breaking of this ban, and it shall be paid in full. Mark my words, Ileadur. A terrible doom is upon us. We here accept the ban and do not desire the prize sought by Pharazon, or covet that which is not ours to take."

Ileadur looked to Hisiemire.

" I shall find you when these reasonings prove unfounded, and we have claimed our rightful place in the lands of the west."

With that he was permitted to leave, but he was not permitted to leave Romenna, as had been agreed before the meeting. He would remain until after Elendil and his sons had departed, so they could be sure in their trust.

He embraced Hisiemire one last time, and said that he loved her more than ever he could have imagined possible.

She asked him, nay pleaded, that he lay down his pride, and turn back from his path into Darkness. Yet he heeded her not, believing himself above all else, to be correct in his judgement.

Yet when at last the new day came, and with it a great turmoil, nine and thirty days after the departure of the fleet, Ileadur was to learn of his mistake. For in the distance the soldiers were coming forth again, and he rode out to meet them. He told them Elendil had been sighted and he told them that he had sought refuge at the Tirith Falath, further east.

These soldiers did not question him, and he was persuasive in his tone and in his description of the man he had seen. He said that where else could a mariner moor as many ships as had Elendil?

Then he turned back to Romenna, having done what he felt was right. Yet as he turned he heard a thunder in the distant inland, and he saw a bright flare in the skies!

He beheld in awe the peak of the Meneltarma! He felt the earth shake and to tremor, the skies fill with a terrible wind! He felt the land in upheavel and the hills slide. He ran!

He ran hard and fast to Romenna, from where he had redirected the soldiers scant hours before. He fled to the harbour to see the ships of the Faithful departing and upon them he could see Hisiemire, and she was calling to him. Then she was screaming!

He turned and what he saw petrified him. A wave, greater than any he had seen blanketing out the west, as a dark curtain against the sky, rising up and up, higher and higher, the winds tore across the landscape and trees tore up into the air, buildings crashed to the ground as the land opened and shook, breaking and crumbling.

He turned and in fright beheld the dwindling ships and the tumult resounded in his ears. From West to East the Land of the Star was being destroyed, and suddenly the entire ocean was rising up and flooding the harbours!

Children screamed, men and women screamed and saw the ships and cursed Elendil.

" Cowards would not fight the Valar! Now they seek to escape and leave us to perish!" Came the shouts of desperate men.

Ileadur knew the truth.

As the Land of the Star was dragged down into the Abyss, Ileadur took that truth with him…

© Paul Rose, 2005