The Stone Maiden

Helm Hammerhand

"Maeve, I'm bored!" Jarel whined.

"And what do you think I can do about that?"

"Tell us a story!" Kalem cried. "Tell us a story!"

"Fine I'll tell you a story!" Both cheered as my friends laughed. "Come on, let's join some of your friends so they can hear too." We rode forward for a bit, drawing along many young children. Once a bit of a crowd was following, I dismounted Wyndlance. Kai and Lani helped my brothers down. Lani took my reins and walked behind our little group.

"What story are you going to tell us?" the children chorused excitedly.

"The tale of Helm Hammerhand!" I announced. They gasped and cheered, begging me to start.

"Now, where to begin... Ah! The very beginning!" They laughed, crowding in around my feet as much as they could. I saw a mother carrying her toddler walking past and I took the child from her. She sent me a grateful look, but walked near my friends.

"Helm Hammerhand, one of our mighty kings. He lived many many years ago, residing in our Golden Hall. Helm lived the majority of his life as a prince, the heir to his fathers throne. As a prince, he wed a beautiful, and stubborn, Rohirric woman and together they had three children. The first, Haleth, was a strong warrior. A leader like his father who inspired courage in his men. The second, Háma, loyal to his family and unfailing in word and deed. The last was Hilde, their only daughter, a strong woman like her mother, but one who loved her family with a strong and never failing passion. Her beauty and rank were to be the cause of much strife for her father, although not once did he blame her.

"When Helm was fifty years old, he inherited the throne. On the borders of Dunland, near to the Westfold, lived another wealthy man. Freca, a Wildman of Rohirric descent. He owned much land on both banks of the river, Adorn. Freca was a respected leader of the Dunlendings, and, as such, when he began claiming that he descended from the line of kings, Helm Hammerhand grew wary of his influence. He could not stem the rumors that grew of Freca and his supposed ancestors, but he believed that Freca was going to use that ancestry to take his throne and kingdom away.

"Truthfully, that was not Freca's plan. You see, children, Freca had a son himself, whose age was close to that of Hilde, Hammerhand's daughter. Wulf was his name and he truly believed that he had a right to claim Hilde's hand in marriage above any other suitor. Helm was not impressed. When Freca first brought to him the idea of a marriage between their children, he could see only benefit for Freca and Wulf. He refused. But Freca was determined. It was this determination of the Wildman that led to so much bloodshed during Hammerhand's rule.

"Freca took an army of men and marched the long distance to Edoras, where Helm King held his councils. He had hoped to intimidate Helm into accepting his offer. This, however, only made Helm angrier. The two fought, their words flying over the entire city. Helm soon turned to physical means to end the fight. Helm punched Freca so hard that he died! The men who had journey with Freca were outraged, but without their leader they could do nothing. So they journeyed back to their own lands, bringing along Freca's body. Helm, as a final rebuttal to Freca's claim of royal lineage, then declared Wulf and all his kin as enemies of the king.

"Now of course, this did not go over well with Wulf. He had hoped to wed the lovely Hilde and become King of the Horse Lords. He gathered together an even greater army and marched against Helm Hammerhand. They met and battled at the Crossings of Isen. Both armies fought fiercely. Many men and horses were slain and Helm was forced to flee with the majority of his army before they were all slaughtered. He withdrew into the Hornburg, fortifying the mountains natural walls with a large gate and the Deeping Wall. Wulf and his wildmen laid siege against the Hornburg. Not once did an enemy ever lay foot inside that fortress.

"Helm's elder son, Haleth, had been left to defend the city of Edoras with a small force. It would do no good to leave the homes there unprotected. Sadly, the Wildmen had known that as well and came upon Edoras with such numbers that the defenders left there soon fell. Haleth stood proudly, defending his home long after all his men and friends had been slain. Haleth died in front of the doors into Meduseld.

"Back in the Hornburg, the seasons were changing fast and Helm was running out of food. Winter's chill came upon them while Wulf still waited outside the gate for them. Helm sent out his other son, Háma, with a small party of riders to go find food. Háma and his men quickly became lost in a blizzard and no one saw them ever again.

"What hope could be found now? Both his sons had died and Helm was still trapped in his stronghold. His men were growing weaker and their food supply had all but run out. He ordered the war horn in the Hornburg to be blown and burst through the gate, slaughtering his foes with naught but his fists. His grief and his hunger made him all the more ferocious as he fought, taking down as many men as possible. He felt, and was right, that these Dunlendings had taken his sons and planned to take his last child as well. Each time the horn blew, Helm went out and fought against the Dunlendings.

"One time, he did not return. His men went out the next morning to see why their king had not come back to safety. Helm had been frozen in the cold, his eyes wide open, standing on his feet, his fists poised to keep fighting.

"His only child, Hilde, had married and had a son while Helm was still a prince. This was a large reason as to why Wulf could not wed her. Now her son, Fréaláf, survived the siege by the Dunlendings and won the war for his mother's father. Fréaláf then became our next king, as a descendant of the royal house."

"Can you tell us another one!" Kalem yawned.

"Tomorrow, I will. Tonight, it's time to find your families and rest for the night. Tomorrow promises a long day of walking so don't push your parents and siblings too hard tonight. Helm Hammerhand still roams around Helm's Deep, protecting his people. You will be safe tonight. The Hammerhand is ever watchful."

The children wandered off towards their families. Kai and Lani camped with my brothers and I. Our little fire had no fuel, but with Kaila we didn't need any to keep it going. Others needed it much more.