Before heading to Edoras, Aratu ordered those who died in battle to be buried separately. Among them, the bodies of Boromir and Erkenbrand were brought to Edoras.
The northern generals were either buried on the spot or taken back to Annuminas and buried in the royal tomb.
The enemy was burned en masse and covered with earth.
The corpses of all the fallen, as well as their armor and weapons, formed a large hill in the center of the West Fold plain, which could be seen even from a distance. The elves call it "Hauz-en-Endenforbidden", "Hill of the Fallen", also called "Hauz-en-Nilnais", "Hill of Tears", which is the same as the famous one in the First Age. The grave mound has the same name.
Later, the grass on this hill grew the most green and dense. No evil person dares to set foot on this hill. Beneath it, the swords of humans and elves rot and return to dust.
The Third Age, 3019.
The first day of June.
A huge army was winding its way south along the North-South Avenue. There are both elves and dwarves among them, and what's more, an ancient creature that looks like a big tree but has two legs is also among them. Of course, the largest number of them are the humans in the north.
The chill in the air grew stronger. The darkness in the east gradually faded into cold gray. Far to their left, thousands of red lights burst out over the dark mountain barrier of Eminmuyi. The clear dawn has arrived. A gust of wind swept across the road ahead, hastily blowing the low green grass.
"look!"
Éomer, who had woken up the day after the Battle of Destruction, shouted, "That's Edoras, the capital of the Rohirrim!"
Aratu and others raised their eyes and saw the Meduseld Palace in the distance standing high on a hill, surrounded by ditches, solid walls and spiked fences - just as the world sang , the roof of the palace seemed to be paved with gold, and the light it reflected reached far, and Alatu could even see the golden rubble on the roof of the palace.
"I can feel that this place does not look like it is shrouded in darkness." Aratu said to Éomer: "The expressions of the people are very calm, and they only have smiles on their faces."
Éomer did not know that his sister had overthrown the Tongue. He was surprised by the description of the eldest son of the Silver King. He straightened up on his horse and looked into the distance.
Sure enough, I saw that although the gate of the royal capital was tightly closed, the gate guards were urgent and calm.
"My sister, what have you done?" Éomer was surprised. You know, the atmosphere in the capital was not like this before he left. At that time, everyone in Edoras was not in danger, but joy and smiles were far away from the Rohirrim.
"Among the descendants of Eor, women can also go to war." Gandalf said meaningfully. "Maybe here we will have unexpected gains."
Aragorn always felt a little uneasy. Because he felt that the wizard's words seemed to be addressed to him. So he wisely chose to keep silent.
When they came to the stream, the morning light was bright, the weather was clear, and the birds were singing. The North Boundary River flows rapidly down into the plain. After passing the foot of the hills, it turns a big bend and flows eastward across their path. In the distance, it joins the Ent River, which is densely covered with reeds.
The land is lush and green, with many willow trees growing on the moist meadows and along the grassy banks of the streams.
In this southern land, the willow trees have already felt that spring is approaching, and the willow tips are turning red. There was a ford across the stream, where the banks on both sides were trampled low by the crossing horses. From there the army waded across the stream to a wide, rutted road leading to the high ground.
At the foot of the hill surrounded by protective walls, there are many high green mounds. These tombs are the final resting places of the successive hussar kings and their heirs - the grass is covered with small flowers, like countless stars in the sky.
"Behold!" said Gandalf, "we have come to the great tomb where the ancestors of Théoden rest."
"There are seven tombs on the left and nine on the right." Éomer said, "This is the history of the descendants of Eor. Since the Golden Temple was built, mankind has gone through many long generations."
Orofinwë had never interacted with humans before returning to Middle-earth. The Teleri elves did not participate in the War of Wrath in the First Era, because at that time they were extremely resentful of Feanor and the Noldor of his family who had started a bloodbath among their families. Therefore, they had no idea what happened in Beleriand. I just heard about it from other relatives. Regarding the legendary second-born children, he expressed surprise and elf pride.
He said: "This period of time is just a short moment for the elves."
"But for the steeds of Rohan, it is a long time ago." Aragorn said, "The building of this palace is only a memory that exists in songs, and the years before that have been lost. In the mists of time. Now, they call this land their home, their own, and their language is different from the humans in the north."
Then he began to sing softly in a slow language, which neither Orofenwë nor Findin II understood, but they listened attentively, for it contained a powerful rhythm.
After the song ended, Éomer thanked Aragorn first, and then said, "Many people don't like horsemen, thinking that we are all rude and reckless men who deal with horses and animals all day long, but in fact we have our own Culture and beliefs, our language is like the land itself, some parts are undulating and lush, while other parts are as hard and unyielding as mountains, sonorous and powerful.”
The first half of these words was addressed to Olofenwe. Orwei's eldest son glanced at him but said nothing. The latter words were said to Alatu. At that time, many people already knew that the future of the human world was in the hands of this young prince.
The eldest son of the silver-white king sat on a tall, snow-white war horse. It was an elf horse, all white with no trace of color. He did not wear a helmet, but wore a mithril forehead crown. The golden vertical pupils were majestic and intimidating. The armor on his body was extremely exquisite. The blue royal cloak hung behind his shoulders, and the emblem of the Dragonborn family on it was lifelike.
At that time, all the generals were surrounding him, and no one could stand beside him.
"I could hear the sadness in the song," he said.
"Indeed." Éomer said: "This is written by an unknown poet of Rohan a long time ago. He recalled how tall and handsome the young Eol was riding from the north. Filarov, the father of horses, has hooves flying like wings. Humans here still sing this song at night. In the common language it goes like this:
Where is the brave knight now? Where can you hear the trumpet blowing?
Where are the high helmets and iron clothes today? Where does the bright blond hair float?
Where is the master of poetry and harp now? Where does the red flame shine?
Where are the spring flowers and autumn fruits now? Where are the ears of wheat thriving?
It's all gone, like the gentle rain on the hills and the drifting wind on the grassland;
The sun sets in the west, hidden behind the mountains.
When the dead wood burns out, who collects the long smoke?
Who can see when the West Sea will return as time goes by? "
Findin II muttered, "I don't like this song." His hair and beard were tied in many braids, and his personality was more like Dain II than Balin.
Gandalf glanced at him and said: "The dwarves have their hammers and songs, but the Rohirrim also have their pride. We should not comment casually."
Findin II curled his lips and said nothing.
So the generals passed over the host, chatting as they passed the silent tombs, followed the winding road up the green shoulders of the hills, and finally came to the broad weatherwall and gate of Edoras Forward - Because the tree men were too tall and intimidating, Treebeard and his people did not follow.
"Stop, this is King Théoden's royal city, why are you bringing an army here?" The guards shouted in Ridmark's language, ordering the strangers to report their names and intentions.
There was surprise in their eyes, and they looked at the leader Aratu with a mixture of awe and joy. They looked at the army outside the city again, their expressions somewhat uneasy.
"Please let me go, my compatriots." Éomer stepped out from the crowd and shouted in the same language, "I am Éomer, son of Éomund. If you still recognize me, you should know that, These are the reinforcements I have brought, specially brought to save us Rohirrim."
"Eomer!" A guard replied in surprise, "It is indeed you! The light side indeed won the battle far away! What the princess said is true!"
Éomer was even more surprised. He said, "The princess you are talking about is my sister? Where is she? What happened in the royal city?"
"I am willing to explain to you, but the order I received is: welcome the victorious Westerners here!" The guard bowed deeply to Alatu: "Excuse me, as noble as you, but Tur Son of Ca Aracano?”
"It's me!" Aratu said.
There was an uproar in the crowd at the right time, and someone immediately blew the welcome horn and opened the city gate to welcome the Western generals.
So, Aratu left the tree people and others behind, and only took Olofenwë, Gandalf, Gemir, Aragorn, Findin II and Éomer into this land under the leadership of a guide. The royal city of the Hill people.
They set foot on a wide path paved with polished stone slabs, meandering upward for a while and then climbing up a small set of carefully built stairs. Many wooden houses with black doors were on both sides of the road, and a stone channel flowed clear water to the left of everyone.
Alatu could see that as the welcome horn was blown, many people opened their doors and windows and looked out curiously. But as he said before, the expressions of the people here did not show much fear or anxiety, as if the shadow that shrouded the place had dissipated.
Even though there is a huge army stationed outside the city.
Finally, they reached the top of the mountain.
Here, the Cavalry King's guards immediately came forward. Many of them had golden hair, braided and hanging on their shoulders. Their green shields were decorated with sun emblems, and their long chainmails were so bright. Dazzling.
"Ahead is the door of the main hall." said the guide. "I must now return to the door to go on duty. Goodbye! Your questions will be explained here."
He turned around and walked quickly down the same path. The generals climbed up the long stairs under the watchful eyes of the tall guards. The guards stood tall and silent at this moment. It was not until Aratu stepped onto the high stone platform at the end of the stairs that they suddenly spoke and gave polite greetings.
"Those who have come from afar, salute you!" they said, turning the hilts of their swords towards the travelers as a sign of peace. Green gems sparkle in the sun. Then, a guard stepped forward and spoke in Common Tongue.
"I am Théoden's gatekeeper," he said. "My name is Hamath. Before you enter, I must ask you to leave your weapons behind."
"Hama!" Éomer shouted in surprise: "It's you!"
"It's me." The captain of the Guards showed a long-lost smile. They hugged each other intimately and told each other about the joy of meeting again. Until everyone looked at Alatu.
"I am willing to respect the authority of a king." There is no smile on the handsome face that is very similar to their parents, and the golden vertical pupils have a colder light than their father: "I have no intention to provoke others. But at the same time, here One should also seriously consider whether it is wise to casually embarrass another king."
He placed the sword Alan Rusi with its scabbard in front of the captain of the guard, and said: "This is the sword made by the high elves and given to me by my father. Since it was unsheathed, it has killed all the monsters and traitors in your mouths." People, I don’t think you are qualified to touch it.”
As if to echo, Olofenwe also raised his sword.
There is no doubt that it is also a legendary elf sword. It is embellished with precious stones and is magnificent.
Then, Gemir and Aragorn also showed their swords.
Among them, Andulil had an inexplicable chill even in his sheath.
"This is a sword that was once broken and reforged. It was originally forged by the dwarven craftsman Tielha in the distant past. Except for the heirs of Elendil, anyone who draws the sword of Elendil will suffer terrible consequences. Death." Aragorn said: "This is not a threat, just a friendly reminder."
Findin II laughed loudly, raised his ax and warhammer, and said loudly: "The weapons of the dwarves may not be as legendary as those of the elves and the sons of the Silver King, but they are still sharp enough. Maybe you can try it."
The faces of Hama and others, who were already frightened by Aratu's astonishing momentum, changed drastically.
Gandalf sighed: "Your Highness, why bother them." He personally took off the sword from his waist and said politely: "Okay, okay! Everyone here is a friend, or should be a friend. We have a falling out. Your only reward is the ridicule of your enemies. Come, King Théoden's loyal guard Hama, this is my sword, please take good care of it. This sword is called Gramdrin, and it was forged by the elves long ago."
Each one was a legendary weapon, each one looked like an ancient king, and King Théoden's guards all became uneasy.
Only Hama bowed to everyone and said: "You seem to have come from that forgotten era on the wings of songs! But please forgive me..."
At this moment, the door of the Golden Palace suddenly opened, and a pleasant voice came from the palace.
"Just let them in."
