The Last Stand: A Defenders of Middle Earth AU

The North has fallen. Mithlond burns. Frodo never returned from Mordor. Now the tide of darkness rises unchecked, sweeping across Middle-earth like a second great shadow.

In this alternate retelling of the War of the Ring, the free peoples stand scattered and broken. Glorfindel, once a beacon of light, is taken by Sauron, his fate unknown. Caledorn, a solemn elven warrior, is sent east in search of Rukil, a rebel Easterling warlord who may hold the key to survival. Meanwhile, Gerithor, a seasoned Dúnedain ranger, and the dwarf Kalan brave the storm in the South, seeking to aid Helm's Deep before it is crushed beneath the weight of a united host of Orcs, Corsairs, and traitors.

As alliances fray and hope fades, a handful of heroes must rise not to win, but to endure. To buy time. To light a single torch against the night.

Because sometimes, the end is not victory.
Sometimes, the Last Stand is all that remains.

Following the events of Defenders of Middle Earth Part One, this AU details what would have happened if the Fellowship, and Gerithor's company, had failed in their tasks.