he trumpets sounded the call, sending to arms men to aid those hundreds who were already fighting for their lives on the plains below Minas Tirith. Soldiers rushed out of the city, waving swords and yelling at the top of their lungs; all were struck with battle fever, the only thing that would keep them alive in the valley of slaughter.

nd Luvi was with them. She had heard the call to arms and had responded in kind, buckling on her sword over her chainmail armor and jamming her helm on top of her head before saddling Manduloome and riding out the city's gates and into the thick of the battle. And every second wishing that she didn't need to go, wishing that honor did not compel her to help these men, these people constantly hounded by the forces of darkness. She wished that she had not come here, had not come to visit her friends at Minas Tirith. But the wishes were pointless, and she knew it; so she focused single-mindedly at the task at hand.

nd then she was beyond the gate, looking down on the hills beneath the city, and her heart fell to despair.

he plain was a mass of swarming minion bodies as far as she could see - and that was for miles. They were everywhere, striving to take the White City, and mowing down the little resistance that there was. Around her Luvi heard screams of pain, fear, and sorrow; the emotions were so strong that she nearly cried out herself. But she had to stay calm, stay focused - for that was the only way to stay alive.

he spurred Loome onwards into the chaos, swinging her sword in all directions and cutting down orcs and goblins and other foul creatures, not letting herself think about what she was doing lest she become afraid. She cut down one orc, and slit the throat of another, getting sprayed with vile sticky blood. She wiped her face quickly, and looked around, only to see that she had been swept away from the city, into the middle of the battle.

uddenly a goblin cut at her leg, and it was all she could do to parry the blow. She thrust her sword into the creature's eye, pulled it out, and pulled Loome around to disembowel a wild man who was attempting to hook her out of the saddle. Loome kicked out and connected squarely with an orc's head, then twisted to avoid another orc's wicked jagged sword cutting into his chest.

uvi fought grimly on, clinging with one hand to Loome's reins and swinging her sword in a deadly arc around her. She was clearing a large circle around her, for the minions appeared to be afraid of her - as they should be, she thought grimly - but this was no good; she could not kill minions if they would not fight her. She dug her heels into Loome's sides, and he gave a neigh and flung himself at the nearest minion. The goblin did not move out of the way quickly enough; in seconds he was on the ground, throat cut.

uddenly a wild arrow flew through the air - Luvi saw it only out of the corner of her eye, and had time only to throw herself aside, off of Loome, as the arrow flew by her. She hit the ground hard and rolled, coming up on her feet, but already she was separated from her horse. She heard an animal scream in pain, and cursed silently, wishing that her mount's spirit found a safe haven and refuge from death.

ighting on the ground was harder than in the saddle, for here she could not see above the writhing mass of bodies, and it was terribly crowded: not enough room to swing a sword. Her muscles ached from exertion, but she ignored it, and sliced at a minion's leg. Just then she spotted someone in the crowd; another elf. Luvi smiled grimly and made her way towards the figure.

t was Morelote, an elf from the kingdom of Mirkwood, and Luvi's friend from long ago. They had met one day when Luvi had been visiting Mirkwood; although this had been four hundred years ago, the friendship had only grown, and now they were closer than ever. Though who knows if we'll be friends after this. If we'll even be alive after this, Luvi thought.

he reached the other elf, and suddenly they were fighting back to back, holding off the enemy by sheer will. "Morelote!" Luvi yelled. "Morel!"

he elf-maiden turned her head for a split second, before focusing back on the battle. "Luvi?! Oh Eru, Luvi! Why are you here? What's going on? Who are these attackers?"

dunno, I was just visiting and I heard the trumpets call!" Luvi yelled back, as she fended off a determined orc, and kicked another in the stomach. "Why are you here? And more importantly, what the hell do we do?"

hey were nearing a wooded area now, but apparently the battle was just as heavy there. Luvi was startled to see more elves around her - where had they come from? But it didn't matter, all that mattered was that she got out alive, but even more importantly that Minas Tirith did not fall; she would die, and gladly, to keep that from happening…

nd it looked like she might have to.

"e have to get somewhere high!" she called out to Morelote. "Somewhere we could see what's going on and figure out what to do about it!" She heard her friend yell her assent, and Luvi immediately started looking for a rock or a hill untouched by the fighting.

here was none; and the closest thing Luvi saw to high ground was the first wall of Minas Tirith. She gestured to Morelote, and began to fight her way over to the wall, grimly gaining every step. All around her was slaughter: bodies of minions, men, elves, and animals riddled the ground, and even more were falling as Luvi cut a wide path around her. Morelote followed her, methodically taking down the minions that closed after Luvi had passed.

uddenly there was a flash of light to the Southwest, and for a heartbeat all fighting stopped. Then a greenish light began to wash over the valley, a dense smoke that seemed to have no effect on the minions, but on the men -

uvi gasped in horror as the valley filled with strangled choking and screams, as the smoke permeated into the bodies of the men and filled their lungs with death. The elves did not seem to be affected by the smoke, but many men dropped like flies, and those who did not die immediately were finished off brutally by excited minions. The smoke was coming her way now, coming towards the city where thousands of souls were marked for death, whether they knew it or not… although the mist had not killed all of the soldiers, it had taken so many, and Luvi could only blanch at the thought of the destruction that would reign rampant in the city.

hat new devilry is this?" cried Morelote, as she cut through a minion's shoulder like it was pudding.

don't know, Morel, but what I do know is that it's bloody awful! And if we don't do something quick, the city's going to fall! All the men in there - so many are going to die, they're all going to choke on that mist, whatever it is -"

he mist had reached them now, and the men nearby were dying. The foul green substance obscured her sight, and had it not been for her keen elf-vision she would have been blinded; the minions certainly were. She took advantage of that fact, as did Morelote - together and yelling wildly they threw themselves at the nearby orcs and goblins, slicing through tough flesh, cutting off heads, cutting through hearts - bringing death everywhere they went, but doing so only because it was for the cause of good, for the lives of the men and women and children sheltered within the White City.

ho will probably die anyway, whether I kill a few minions or not, Luvi thought. But she had to try, anyway - honor, and doing what was right, demanded it.

The mist was moving past them now, leaving behind it a terrible sight: hundreds of men, dead and dying, fallen on the plain.

uvi and Morelote wasted no time. They had to get to the city; what with the terrible amount of death behind them, the minions could easily overpower the elves. They had to get to higher ground, somewhere they could make a stand.

uvi didn't know how they did it, but suddenly they were in front of the gates - now closed, with no more fighters pouring out of the city to aid their fellow soldiers. She and Morelote found a group of minions trying to climb a rickety ladder that was perched against the walls. She slew one minion with an effective backhand-stroke, and Luvi took another; between them they dispersed of the dozen or so orcs easily.

his part of the wall was near the mountainside, so there were not many enemies nearby to hamper their ascent onto the wall. Luvi scaled the ladder in seconds, with Morelote close behind her, and soon they were up on the wall -

ooking out into the city, where chaos reigned.

he green smoke had not killed very many people inside the walls, but it had still done some damage. Bodies littered the ground, with their loved ones bending over them and screaming and crying in sorrow. Luvi and Morelote were about to descend down the stairs that led into the city from one of the wall's watchtowers, to help the people or at least tell them what was going on, when -

n arrow flew through the air, arcing in a deadly path -

nd pierced Morelote's unprotected chest.

uvi cried out in anguish, causing the people in the city below to look up in startlement at the elf who collapsed, and the elf-maiden beside her who threw her head back and screamed. Luvi grabbed Morelote just before the elf fell off of the battlement, and held her friend in her arms as the light went out of the elf's eyes. "Luvi - I - thank you," Morelote managed to breathe out, "It is - so bright…" And then she breathed for the last time, and was gone.

uvi was shaking with anger and pain. Oh Morel, she thought wildly. I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry. But what were you thanking me for? What could you possibly thank me for? For bringing you to your death? And what could be so bright in such a terrible way to end life? She was crying, cursing while tears ran unchecked down her cheeks, pleading for Morelote to come back, cursing and cursing and cursing the minions who did this. And hating herself, for letting her friend down like that, for being so stupid - so stupid, she hadn't even looked out for her friend -

he stayed like that for what seemed like eternity, until reason and calm overcame her anguish. She stood up slowly, ignoring the slaughter that still continued below her. Arrows flew by her like a deadly rain of death, and she didn't care. She almost felt like spreading her arms and falling from the tower, but the only thought that kept her from doing so was that Morelote must be avenged.

o Luvi slid down the ladder off the wall, and landed on the ground just as a group of minions stormed her. She slashed and hacked at them, moving constantly away from the White City and leaving a trail of blood behind her. She was suffering from several wounds, most of them minor but some not, but she didn't feel them.

he was in the midst of the battle, and surrounded on all sides. Luvi was tiring now, for she had been fighting for what seemed like hours, and the anger and sorrow that had given her energy before was fading and turning into despair. A minion slashed at her leg, and suddenly a lance of pain pierced her; it seemed that her whole body was on fire and there was no stopping that flame. She cried out, but was not heard over the din of the battle.

ut she did not stop, did not pause even for a second; she just kept on killing the servants of darkness, kept sweeping them down in an unquenchable fury. But it was never enough, it would never be enough, for what could ever avenge a murder that was her fault and nothing would ever change that -

he felt like something had just torn her into a thousand pieces. The pain from her leg was eclipsed now, by the sheer agony that she felt because there was a sword in her chest, and then the owner of the sword pulled it out, and left her standing there and staring at the bloody patch on her leather armor, the crimson liquid spreading rapidly -

he fell. But as death overcame her and she sunk into oblivion and the pain faded into blackness, there was a sudden flash of light and goodness and joy -

nd as her struggling to hold on to life ceased, she thought, So this is what Morel meant, when she said that it was so bright. She meant that there was something better, something more pure, beyond death… and she wasn't afraid. Death isn't the end of life. It's just a new beginning.

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