User blog:Patrick.vtap/Where the Stars are Strange, Chapter 1



Note: I may have chnged some character descriptions to fit wth the story







Aragorn felt the salty, cool air of the sea on his face. He closed his eyes, and breathed in the air. “Captain Thronogil” said



Mablung, his second in command, breaking the silence “We approach Umbar”. Aragorn turned toward him “In how much time should we get there?”. “About an hour” he said casually. Yet Aragorn could see the doubt in his eyes. They were assailing an ages-old Numenorean haven. He and his small contingent of men were few, but strong. One could only hope that the forces of Umbar were not too many. As night began to fall, Umbar came into view. It was a tall, strong fortress, as it was made by the Numenoreans of old. On the ramparts stood men, and they sounded loud horns and lit the beacons. Their element of surprise was gone. There were already men waiting for them at the shipyards, where they were to get off their ships. They roared  harsh cries in both Haradic and Dark Adunaic. They were dressed in sable armor, and looked to the Gondorians as forces of darkness out of the Elder Days. Soon, they were assaulted by a hailstorm of arrows. They held up their shields to protect themselves, but some were too late. Their bodies fell into the dark water below. Once the Gondorians had all disembarked from their ships, they began to march against the walls of Umbar. There was a constant rain of arrows, and some men threw tar from the walls. Aragorn saw how hopeless this was. How would they get inside the gate? As he was almost going to call a retreat, all the arrows silenced, and a dark, raspy voice came out of the wall

“Thronogil, your forces cannot penetrate this wall. By my men’s arrows, or by your exhaustion, you will surely die. Therefore, I offer you a chance to redeem yourself. I challenge you, by the ancient laws of Numenor, to single combat” There was a murmur among the men of Gondor “If I should emerge victorious, you will die, and this Gondorian rabble will leave. If you should, by some miracle of the Valar, emerge victorious, Umbar will be yours.”Aragorn had heard of this champion of Umbar. He was a disonorable man, who would betray anybody at the slightest opportunity.He had a weakness, however ; he loved contests of strength and will, and had gone undefeated. It was said that in the beginning, he was a gladiator in the Umbaran arena. Aragorn thought carefuly. He answered “Yes. Come forth!” soon, the walls slowly opeaned, and a single warrior came out. He was clad in black scale armor, and had a black sword in his hand.He was more monster than man, and he towered over everyone. He said in that same raspy voice “I am Urazur son of Imrazur. Fight me now, if you dare” Aragorn took up his Gondorian sword and engaged him in battle. They were both extremely skilled, and Aragorn had to have his full concentration not to get chopped in half by Urazur’s deadly swings. Everybody was in silence as this happened, and they gazed on the two that were fighting. They were about equal, and soon Aragorn tired. Urazur was strong, and his blows could knock a man's head clean off. He was powerful, but slow. The armor outweighed him. Aragorn only had a light mail shirt on him, armor wise. Aragorn used his speed to his advantage, darting here and there and dodging Urazur’s blows. He had slashed at his a few times, but his heavy armor protected him. Aragorn was very tired, but using his last ounce of strength,he slashed his sword, and and pierced his armor.The Umbaran was so surprised, he dropped his sword in shock. A ring also slipped off of his finger. He was about to give the final blow, when Urazur punched him with his gauntlets. This provided the necessary seconds to escape back into the city. For a second, nobody spoke. Finally, the gates began to swing shut. Aragorn, seeing his chance, rallied his men “Elendil!” he said as he sprang towards the gate. The rest of the men followed him, and rushed into the city. It was a Umbaran massacre. Later, many bodies were seen floating in the seas around Umbar, both Gondorian and Umbaran. Urazur was found trying to escape. The King of Umbar was assumed dead in all the chaos. Aragorn sent messengers to King Ecthelion of Gondor, that the battle was won, and the ships of Umbar were being burnt. As everybody celebrated, Aragorn pondered his victory. Umbar was very valuable to Sauron, and soon he would come aware of “Thronogil”. He decided that that only put the Dunedain at risk. At heart, Aragorn was a Ranger. He desired open air, and sleeping with the stars as his roof. Although he was treated with much honor in Gondor, he had made some enemies, including a young prince named Denethor. Denethor loved his father, but his father loved Thronogil more, and they contested for his respect. He was beginning to walk out, when he saw a gleam of metal in the sand, he examined it. It was a ring made out of a metal that seemed to shift colors in the light, and it was emblazoned with a insignia of a snake, with eyes of rubies, killing an eagle that had seven stars on its wings. He wanted to ask Gandalf what it was. He also wondered what to do. He decided that it would be best to lay low for a while, and help the fight against Sauron in a different way. First, he would go see Gandalf. From there… who knows? As he finally made up his mind, he left quietly, and he was never seen in the lands of the West for many a year.

So, what did you think? Any comments? If any of you want a character, and have not already posted, you sould do so now!