6. Rise like eagles
Summary: And now for something completely historical...
It began long ago, as Men count years now, when Círion put his hand and a province in Eorl's hands, honoring the truth: that this stranger had held Gondor entire in his grasp... and returned it freely, gladly.
The love of princes binds lands and peoples. And if gratitude makes light of bondage, blood bequeaths a horror of its breach.
At Poros, Folcred and Fastred fell upon Gondor's enemies like arrows, and rose to meet the fatal charge like eagles seeking sky.
So their barrow guards the Crossings, and its door proclaims: For love and honor– the Mark and Gondor.
Notes: The burial of Folcred and Fastred in a single mound at Poros is told in Appendix A; their names only come up in the genealogy of Rohan's kings. They answered the call of Túrin II, in 2885, who at that point was losing Ithilien to the invasions of Haradrim serving under Mordor.
My pessimistic side thinks Sauron planned it this way: he probably let Túrin have the land at a certain point, knowing that it wasn't going to do Gondor a whole lot of good, and just used the retreat through Ithilien and over Poros to bleed Gondor as dry as he could, thereby killing a lot of people, including the Haradrim who were serving under his orders and never were going to occupy and farm that land (a point which I think must play out badly in their psyches...).
The title owes a debt to... Emmanuel Levinas, and his essay, "To die for..." Yes, I am a one-trick pony.
This is a work of fan fiction, written because the author has an abiding love for the works of J R R Tolkien. The characters, settings, places, and languages used in this work are the property of the Tolkien Estate, Tolkien Enterprises, and possibly New Line Cinema, except for certain original characters who belong to the author of the said work. The author will not receive any money or other remuneration for presenting the work on this archive site. The work is the intellectual property of the author, is available solely for the enjoyment of Henneth Annûn Story Archive readers, and may not be copied or redistributed by any means without the explicit written consent of the author.
