Isildur

of despair that seems to fall on any who come near him. And we have other weapons of great power. My father's blade Narsil was wrought in the Elder Days by Telchar of Nogrod, greatest of the smiths of the Dwarves, and it has been borne by all our fathers since. Gil-galad's spear, Aeglos Snowpoint, was forged in Eldamar to be the weapon to slay Morgoth himself. Both are now charmed to be Sauron's bane, and no evil things can withstand their coming. These weapons should have the strength to pierce even the unholy flesh of Sauron, if only they can be brought to bear against him.'

'Then you believe the Three can overmaster the Nine?' asked Barathor.

'It is our hope, but we cannot be certain until we make the attempt. The Nine are but slaves of the One. Their power is by terror, not by great magical strength.'

'Their Shadow is great for all that,' said Elrond. 'I fought against them at the Black Gate, and I felt the fear myself. In the midst of our charge, our boldest warriors suddenly quailed. Elf and Man wandered in confusion and horses went mad. Seeing our disorder, the Ulairi led their forces out in a powerful sortie against us. But Gil-galad led a column in a swift flanking attack around behind them and burst through the open sally port and so took the Gate. Even in their defeat, the Shadow of the Nine went before them, and we could not prevent their retreat across Udun and so back to Minas Ithil.

'I fear they have learned the folly of the extended sortie at Dagorlad. Had they remained on the walls they would be there yet. They will not repeat that error at Minas Ithil.'

'No,' agreed Isildur. 'We must assail the city, break the gate, and destroy the Ulairi, all in one sweeping rush. We cannot hope to besiege them, not while they bear the Nine. There must be no delay, or Sauron will be able to move other forces against us. The stroke must be swift and complete. Half a victory means defeat.'

'Yes,' said Cirdan. 'We Ringbearers will each lead a column. When we perceive the Shadow we shall place the Three on our hands and contend against it. We hope to dispel it or at least diminish it and force it back. Then you must do the rest.'

'You say you will contend against the Nine,' said Barathor, 'but how will such a struggle appear to us mortals?'

'The Rings will change us as we wield them,' said Cirdan. 'We will enter into that Twilight that is not of this world. Elves will perceive us but dimly, as shapes in a mist, and Men not at all. We know not of the Ulairi, but we believe that to them we will suddenly become more clear, for they dwell always in the Twilight. If so, we shall be clearly visible targets to them, and in a world unfamiliar to us but home to them. It will be a most dangerous time.'

'Even so,' said Galadriel. 'Do not be dismayed at our disappearance, but press forward with all speed, for we may be unable to fight while we are wielding the Rings.'

'And what if you should fall while in that Twilight?' asked Surion.

'If we fall you will not see it, save that the protection of the Three will be lost. You must fight on.'

'But what would happen to you?' he persisted.

'As you may know,' said Galadriel quietly, 'when an Elf dies or is slain on this side of the sea, he will yet rejoin his friends beyond the Veil at the end of this world. But it is said that an Elf who dies in the Twilight may not pass through the Veil, but will be lost forever.'

'Then you risk more, perhaps, even than we mortals.' Surion looked sadly at Galadriel with her golden hair and her face and form of surpassing loveliness. Young and beautiful she seemed, more than any other woman who had ever lived.

'Tell me if you will,' he said after a pause. 'Is it needful that an Elf-Maiden should bear one of the Three into battle? Among Men, women do not lead armies to war. I would not see you lost to the world.'

Galadriel laughed. 'And how am I to take that, Surion? You compliment me as a Lady, but slight me as a commander. I am not unused to wearing mail, you know. I led an army of the Elves of Beleriand against Morgoth's fortress of Thangorodrim. I fought in the first war against Sauron and helped to drive him out of Eriador. I am no trembling shield-maiden.'

'My apologies, Lady,' stammered the young captain of Cair Andros, his face burning. 'I am unused to the ways of the Eldar. You are fair and lovely and look no older than my sister, who has seen but twenty winters.'

Many of the Elves smiled at this. Galadriel laughed and said, 'You are indeed unused to us, Captain. You think me twenty? I am more than forty, and not in years, but yen. Save Gil-galad only, I am the eldest of our kindred in Middle-earth. Twenty years! Why, I had seen twenty centuries before ever I left Eldamar, and the sun has gone round nearly four thousand times since then.'

Surion stared unbelieving, and Isildur laughed.

'Do you still fear to follow such a young girl into battle, Captain?'

'Nay, Sire,' he gulped. 'I am honored, my Lady, and I will follow you to victory or to death, though still do I fear for your safety. Such beauty should not perish.'

She smiled at him. 'You are kind, Captain, but be not anxious for me. Think only of victory and it will surely come.'

'Now all tales are told!' said Isildur, rising to his feet again. 'It is time to act. Do any here doubt the necessity or the wisdom of Gil-galad's plan?' There were a few shouts of 'No!' and 'Let us strike quickly!'

'Then we need only plan our attack. Since speed and surprise are our allies, I suggest a direct approach. We will cross the Great Bridge into East Osgiliath and press forward with all possible speed up the main road to Minas Ithil. It will mean crossing ten leagues of occupied territory, in clear view of their spies. Our only hope then is to travel faster than their spies and arrive at Minas Ithil before word can reach the city. As many of you know, it lies well up in a winding mountain valley. With any luck they should have little time to prepare their defence. Then we will have to surmount the walls. They are both strong and high, for I built them myself to withstand even a determined attack from any evil things that might issue out of Mordor.

'But ever since my family was driven out of Minas Ithil I have dreamed of reconquering it. I have given great thought to how it might best be done, and I think I know the way. The city stands on a rocky prominence on the southern side of the valley, and its main gate faces north with a strong tower on either side. The gate is set back between the feet of the towers, so attackers find themselves in a kind of courtyard, at the mercy of archers on the battlements above the gate and in the towers. The gate would be very difficult to take by any force and losses would be terribly high. In the center of the city is the fortress of the Citadel, enclosed within its own wall, with the Tower of the Moon at its heart. We must not let the Ring-Wraiths withdraw into the Citadel or we shall find it hard indeed to dislodge them.

'There are three sally ports let into the outer wall, but these too are well fortified and certain to be strongly guarded. A passage is let into the top of the walls, along which men can move to any point of attack, completely protected from their enemies. That passage is everywhere wide enough that four men may walk abreast, except at one point. The western tower of the gate is built close to the edge of a steep bank above a stream, with hardly room for a man to stand at its foot. It was built thus purposely so it would be difficult to come against it. But because of the nearness of the declivity, I was forced to narrow the passage atop the wall to but a few feet so defenders must pass in single file, though this is not apparent from without.

'Because of the steep slope, this tower appears impregnable on that side. I am hoping that the fewest defenders would be stationed there, especially as the narrow passage prevents many from gathering on that side of the tower. I propose that we make a strong feint to the gate, massing our strength there, but without allowing ourselves to enter the deadly fore court before the gate itself. Hopefully this will draw many defenders to those parts of the walls nearest the gate.

'At the same time, parties of mounted archers could sweep around the city, riding close under the walls on either side. It is difficult to see or attack fast-moving enemies hard against the wall. These parties would then climb the hills behind the town and lay down the heaviest possible fire at defenders on the walls. This should further distract the defenders and discourage them from putting their heads over to look down the wall.

'As the riders pass along the narrow path by the western tower, a small party would dismount. They will then attempt to scale the tower with the aid of grapples shot from crossbows. If they can gain the top and take the passage, it can be easily defended at both ends because of the closeness. With the passage held, a bold and agile man could enter the tower through a small window that overlooks the passage. Within the tower is the mechanism for the gates. They are counterweighted by huge stones that descend within the tower. It takes but a touch to open them.'

'A bold plan indeed, Sire,' said Ingold. 'But who will scale the walls?'