And In The Dawn Save Them

Chapter 40 : The War To Come

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Several days later, Aragorn arrived in Edoras with an army of two and a half thousand men. Together with Rohan's army, this gave them around four thousand soldiers. It wasn't enough to take on all the enemies, but they still had plenty of the elixir of the Invincibles.

However, as no one knew what role Alcara could play in using magic to tip the balance against them, everything could be thrown into darkness.

Everyone would have liked Gandalf to have stayed a little longer : but no one chooses when to leave their loved ones.

On arriving in Meduseld, Aragorn had been prepared to find a peculiar atmosphere, but what he saw was even more disturbing than what he had learned from his letters.

Ever since he was informed that war had been declared, Éomer had thrown himself wholeheartedly into preparing for battle. He ate, slept, trained and gave orders for no other purpose. Apart from the only discussion he had with Faramir in the first few days, he never mentioned Alcara's name again. He seemed focused, in a hurry, and always ready to explode in anger if anyone said anything to him.

Eowyn and Faramir tried to restrain his belligerence and manage the kingdom's affairs for him, but he was elusive. Everything in this palace, even the royal stables, reminded him of his past happiness. If he lingered too long, he risked sinking back into a heavy, lethargic melancholy at any moment. But by avoiding his pain, he became tyrannical, angry and moody, sometimes enthusiastic, sometimes suddenly silent for hours on end. He even made ill-considered decisions, which were quickly postponed, such as transferring the capital of Edoras to Aldburg, the town of his childhood, in the east of the kingdom.

Aragorn's presence had the advantage of curbing his contrary impulses a little, and providing support for Eowyn and Faramir. The presence of Merry and Pippin also brought them a little levity.

Unfortunately, Legolas and Gimli would not be fighting alongside him as they had in the past. He could sense that they were gradually detaching themselves from the torments of Men to devote themselves to establishing one last colony of Wood Elves in Ithilien. He understood them and did not try to make them come.

Aragorn insisted, and obtained from Éomer a council to decide together on the battles to come, and where to place the troops. Éomer, initially wanting to decide alone, finally agreed that he needed all the support of Gondor, and keeping his respect for Aragorn, he accepted.

Around the table, Aragorn asked that the Marshals of Rohan not to be present, so that he and his friends and companions from the War of the Ring could bend Éomer a little. So Eowyn, Faramir, the Hobbits and Éomer were the only ones present, along with him. Aragorn decided to present his precise battle strategy, which consisted of not letting any of Fangorn's enemies escape to Rohan, so as not to broach the most sensitive subjects directly with Éomer.

"So", Aragorn finished, pointing to the map, "we shall place the troops in a vise around the forest, preventing the enemy from getting a good view of the moor."

A silence greeted his last words. Everyone seemed to agree, but Éomer remained silent and thoughtful, his fist clenched on his chin. Aragorn turned to him.

"Éomer? What do you think?"

But the latter, instead of answering about the battle, declared:

"So she was a friend to you?"

It was the first time he had broached the subject of Alcara again. The tension was suddenly palpable in the atmosphere, and could have been cut with a knife. Everyone remained silent, embarrassed, and Aragorn kept his attention on him to prevent him drifting into an angry outburst.