According to a text in The Nature of Middle-earth, Numenoreans could send out a mental call to their horses, a bit like Gandalf does to Shadowfax, although probably not across quite such long distances. Inspired by this, here is a ficlet about Isildur's get-away after he stole the last fruit of the White Tree of Numenor almost from under the noses of Ar-Pharazon and Sauron.
I have sneaked several of the event's prompt words in here.
Isildur stumbled down a narrow side alley in the dark, almost hugging the wall, partly because he did not want to be seen, but also because his legs kept buckling under him. He had got a fair distance away from the Courtyard of the Tree before he realized just how badly the guards had succeeded in wounding him, but now he was enduring the effects, the blood loss and the pain. He hoped he was still walking in the right direction.
‘Now would be a good time for you to return to me, Karbi,’ he thought frantically. He tried to shape that thought into a mental call, but his mind was growing fuzzy. He should have tried earlier. He had known what risks he was running but he had not bargained for such difficulties at this stage, if he ever managed to escape the palace and its surroundings alive. He stumbled on.
It took him a while to realize he was hearing the clop-clop of hooves along the cobbles, coming towards him, and then he was not sure he was not imagining it. But suddenly, she was there, his faithful Karbi, who he had left to wander free among the abandoned ruins of an executed friend’s estate on the outskirts of the city. Somehow, she had found him. She gently nudged his arm and he almost toppled against her. But with a couple of attempts and a lot of help from her he made it into the saddle. Despite everything, he remembered to check and he breathed a sigh of relief: he still had Nimloth’s fruit and the whole venture was not in vain, if only he could get it back to Father or Grandfather.
‘I won’t be able to help, Karbi,’ he whispered hoarsely. ‘Somehow you will have to get us both home. No, to Grandfather’s house outside the town walls, if you can do it, Karbi. Please.’
Karbi stepped softly, softly, trying not to jolt him. A good thing that she had such a dark coat; she almost blended in with the shadows and the skies were cloudy tonight. Cautiously, she headed east, towards Romenna. Her rider needed more care than a mare could give, but this was not a good place and she needed to get him away. She knew it was up to her now and it would not be her fault if they did not make it to Amandil.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality✓ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
I revisited my work from a few years ago and made some edits (removed references to a certain series that has since diverged too far from Isildur canon).
I’m very proud of this one, and if it converts just one reader from thinking he’s a one dimensional movie meme, then I’ll be thrilled.
A Revisiting of the Disaster of the Gladden Fields, aka the death of Isildur and his sons and the losing of the One Ring
Ok having not read this section of Unfinished Tales before, and my memory being a bit blurry on what the Fellowship book says about this, I think the majority of my perception of this situation comes from the movie (Fellowship), which in my opinion casts Isildur in a much more negative light, (not to mention completely omits Elendur, his son and heir).
--Now after scanning these obscure tags, I found there are a few posts on here that get into this topic as well, so please go read those too, but I continue--
Upon being assailed by the orcs, Elendur asks Isildur about using the ring to their advantage, and Isildur admits that he is not strong enough to wield it (of course he says he has not yet found the strength, meaning it was a thought in his mind to use it, but we go on), and he admits that it should go to someone more powerful, i.e., "to the Keepers of the Three." Despite being under the Ring's influence, there is still much more wisdom in these thoughts than we maybe give Isildur credit for.
Now I want to turn the focus to Elendur, Isildur's son, because his heroics, though fleeting, are not sung of enough. Elendur, with his brothers dead or dying, and their company facing certain death, tells (nay, commands) his father to flee and take the ring to the Keepers, "even at the cost of abandoning your men and me". What bravery and sacrifice to take on certain death, as the heir to the crown, and let your father be the one to take a chance at escape! And Isildur's response:
"King's son, I knew that I must do so; but I feared the pain. Nor could I go without your leave. Forgive me, and my pride that has brought you to this doom."
Bro. ("King's son" like can't you hear his defeated voice as he beholds his son in the darkness amid death and battle and what will be his final hours???) Talk about heart-wrenching. Now maybe this isn't the point and I don't deny the influence of the ring over him, but here I see an Isildur who is not power-hungry or self-serving or completely consumed by desire for the ring like a wraith, but I see an Isildur who has realized the weight and danger of this ring, the death it has brought by his own pride, and an Isildur that has resolved to bring the ring to the Keepers, on the words of his son whom he is leaving for dead.
His son, "who should afterwards have been King, and as all foretold who knew him, in his strength and wisdom, and his majesty without pride, one of the greatest, the fairest of the seed of Elendil, most like to his grandsire." Sound like anyone familiar? Yep, Elrond thought so too (from the appendix): "those (such as Elrond) whose memories recalled him were struck by the great likeness to him, in body and mind, of King Elessar, the victor in the War of the Ring, in which both the Ring and Sauron were ended for ever."
And I love this addition in the appendix: "Elessar...was the descendant in the thirty-eighth degree of Elendur's brother Valandil. So long was it before he was avenged." I love that the sacrifice of Elendur is remembered here, and the thread between these two not broken.
Lastly, a note to the one who miraculously survived the slaughter that killed Elendur and his brothers. The esquire of Elendur, Estelmo. Yes, the one who overheard the parting words of Isildur and Elendur, who carried the history back with him, was named Estelmo. Another connection to the future King of Gondor, Estel, a name given him by Elrond.
I love this history, thank you for reading.
All quotes from Unfinished Tales by JRRT "Disaster of the Gladden Fields"
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
✓ Live Streaming✓ Interactive Chat✓ Private Shows✓ HD Quality✓ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
