The Legend of Saironelloistya [COMPLETED]

Chapter 21: The Battle of Meneltarma

If Life is valued, its worth is great,
But what is life, if not added weight.
Death is not the end, but simply another path,
but kill my friends, and you'll bear my wrath.
All life is precious, some elders may say,

but of those, only some, will see the break of day.

Which is more valuable, life or freedom,

is it better to live in sovereign kingdom?

Those in power have lost their way,

and Now I have begun to dismay,

for an army is knocking at our door,
and yet, this may end all war.

I finished writing and stood up, irritated with the poor quality of the prose. I was in the ruins of a smoking house, that once belonged to a family of six, who had relied on me for their protection, and I failed them. I looked around, in sadness at the Aftermath of The Battle, before four of Nimloth's soldiers led me away...

Back To Present...

I stood on top of the wall and looked at my surroundings. The wall was tall and had a perimeter of nearly 6000 units. It was approximately 20 units thick and had men all over it armed with bows, facing Nimloth's army, who had begun marching towards the walls. As they got closer, I realized from their gait and expression, that they were marching of their own free will, and that she didn't have an enchantment over them. I had honestly hoped they were under an enchantment, as it would have made their trials easier on them, but they had made the conscious decision to rebel against the leaders of Meneltarma, and were, therefore, all traitors.

I turned to my divisions and spoke saying: "Children of This Land. Men and Elves, we are, and men and elves are they. I do not like death, but if we are to win this battle, some people will die, and that is the horror of war. However, I have come to the conclusion that we are on the side of what is right, even if the councilors have not come to the same conclusion." I paused, and murmurs of dissension went throughout the crowd. "We will battle to the end, and we will never surrender. Nimloth, despite her belief in her cause being honorable, has gone too far in her belief and was willing to sacrifice the lives of others, so that her belief could advance. This is morally unacceptable. She has fought for the people, but she doesn't understand that she is fighting against the government that the people duly accepted. This makes her contention, while it may not be wrong, corrupt. We must fight. I have over the last few days pondered whether our cause was hopeless, or whether the idea of our cause having hope even matters. I am a logititian, yet I have reached a conclusion. I will choose to hope, even unto my own demise, then live with nothing to live for. To your positions." I turned and faced back towards Nimloth's army, who were now within 900 units, and still advancing in rows.

" Férima!" Saironellotoron shouted, meaning "Ready to hand!", and with a precision that he had overseen the training of for the last few weeks, the forces of Meneltarma simultaneously brought an arrow to the string of their bow.

"Tehta!" Laureaferedir shouted, meaning "Aim!", and every archer on the walls of Meneltarma drew their bows at once and leveled them so the arc of the arrow's flight would end inside of Nimloth's soldiers. The soldiers of her army were now within 700 units and continued advancing.

"Tulunca!" They both shouted, meaning "steady!", and all of the soldiers tensed up, waiting on me for the final call, but I continued to wait, as Nimloth's army continued to advance, coming within 500 units of the walls.

"Horaleheren" Saironellotoron shouted, meaning "Wait for the order!", when he noticed the restlessness of the soldiers, as the army reached the 300 unit mark, and continued advancing.

There was a strange sense of silence around us, and I muttered, "The silence before the storm." I turned towards my soldiers, and as Nimloth's soldier came within 100 feet of the wall, I shouted "Fainulepilin!" meaning "release the arrow." 25,000 arrows soared past my head as the archers on the wall released their arrows, at a range to where the steel armor of Nimloth's soldiers could not withstand the close range force of the topaz arrows of our army. The arrows ripped through their armor like a rock through water, and they began to fall, some gurgling upon their own blood as the arrows punctured their lungs. I closed my eyes, and just listened, horrified in my heart, but keeping any emotions off of my face, for the sake of my soldiers. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and without opening my eyes, I deduced that it was Saironellotoron. "Order the next volley," I said quietly.