The Lost Hope

Chapter XXXIII

Thranduil's pov

When I reach the walls the battle wasn't favoring the elves.

There is a sea of dead orcs and elves, and it pained me to see them. It reminded me of too many wars I have taken part in.

Gundabad, Misty Mountains, and Mirkwood.

I continue through, looking for the nearest battle. There was a huge fight happening inside the walls, only a few hundred yards from the broken wall. The orcs were winning, continuing to push the guards back towards the city.

I ride over, pulling my sword out and slicing an orc as I pass by him. The orcs don't stop, but target me instead. I slice a few that come too close, and my elk swings at a few to get them out of the way. I turn around and join some of the guards. Most of them had injuries of some kind, but a few of them weren't hurt.

"Get medical help to the injured, the ones who can still fight, join me." I command, turning back towards the orcs. They start to move away and clear a path through the middle of them. I watch as a larger orc comes to the front. He smiles to me in the demonic orc way before charging at me. I rush over with my elk and try to slice at him. He was protected by armor so it didn't work in my favor. My sword slides along his armor without leaving any mark.

His weapon also hits my armor, mine not being as protective in the shoulders though. A sharp pain hits my shoulder and I ride a short distance away. I hardly notice and charge at my opponent again. Learning from my mistake, I swing at his head. He dodges it, throwing off his own swing and missing me entirely. He spins around and swings towards my elk. I block his blow with my sword as best I could, but it still slightly hits the elk. He swings his antlers at the orc, and the orc was knocked over. I take the chance to attempt to hit his head again, and this time I succeed.

The orc roars for only a second before he dies. I turn my elk towards the other orcs as the charge at us in a fury. I charge at them, along with a handful of elves that were still able to fight.

My elk plowed through many orcs, and I fought with my sword. I was never a fan of the bow, unlike Legolas. I enjoyed feeling the contact of the sword on the enemies bodies.

Within 30 minutes, we were able to push back the orcs past the walls. At that point many of the orcs realized that they had lost the battle. Some retreated, and other fought until they were killed. One of the orcs fighting me was particularly stubborn, and took me minutes to kill. I held him at point, about to kill him as he laughs evilly.

"A swarm will happen, soon enough. Prepare for Mirkwood's destruction." He lunges at me and I cut his head clean off before he could hit me.

I turned to the others and examined the area. The wall was broken at many places, dead orcs and elves littering the area. Blood stained the grass and stone walkways. There were around 50 elves left after the battle, and it unnerved me.

"Those not injured stay at the wall and make sure the orcs don't return. Those injured go to the medic area and join the others. I must speak with Serion." I tell them as the elves separated. Some limped to the building not far that held many doctors. Others wandered with weapons drawn to the wall. One elf walks up to me and bows.

"Lord Thranduil, I have bad news." She says.

"Please share." I reply.

"Serion was severely hurt by the battle. He is now at the doctor's receiving treatment, but it was so bad we had to carry him."

I nod to her. "Thank you." She bows again before going to the walls. I turn and go to the medical building. I was anxious. Serion was the best leader over the army, and if he were out for the rest of the battle, the guard could suffer until Legolas and Chandra return.

I enter and all of the elves made a path for me through the room. I reach the back and a elf bows to me.

"My lord, you are looking for Serion I am guessing."

I nod, and the he looks at me sadly. "We tried our best, but Serion's injury is too great. He has a few minutes is all."

He leads me towards a room in the back. He opens it and I walk in. Serion's armor was mostly removed, showing a stab through the side of his stomach. He seemed to be lifeless, but he was slowly breathing. I walk up to him, and he opens his eyes.

"I'm sorry... for the lack... of protection." He struggles to say.

"You did your best." I reply. I was going to ask him about the situation and how the orcs were able to break the walls, but I knew it would be hard for him to explain at this moment. I figured I would ask the other elves that had been there.

"There's something..." Serion stutters. "The orcs seemed... to be glowing... The tattoos..." He stops, as his breathing staggers to a stop. I close my eyes, giving respect as I reach my hand and close his eyes. I sit there, thinking about the new info, and feeling disturbed.

The tattoos were glowing, which meant one thing...

There is a wizard working with the orcs.