The Two Things

“There are two things a warrior must always remember, what are these two things?” My instructor asked, standing tall above the group of young lads he had been assigned to teach.

“His sword and his courage sir!” i answered eagerly, standing on tiptoes and raising my hand as high as possible.

“Wrong! The two things a warrior must always remember are his friends and what he is fighting for.” He replied drawing his sword and dropping it on the ground. “Even without a weapon a warrior can still fight as long as he has his comrades beside him, for courage alone is foolishness but courage together can change the tide of battle.” He threw some punches for effect never quite standing still as he talked. “And without a reason to fight there can be no courage.”

He picked his sword off the ground and handed it to me, kneeling down and putting his hand on my shoulder.

“A sword is just a tool, it may be a very dangerous one but without the proper conditions you might as well be trying to wave away darkness with a torch.” He said still loud enough for everyone to hear. “The darkness will always return and you risk putting out your only safety by doing it.” He patted me on the shoulder and then stood, speaking in a loud and commanding voice. “Listen well lads! Today i will teach you to fight together, to know what the man next to you is thinking before he has even thought it himself, for that is the only path to victory.”

I returned my thoughts to the present, stumbling for a moment as i tripped over the saddle of a slain horse, dropping my sword and leaving me wide open from my fumble, an uruk hai capitalizing on my fumble, charging forward and swinging downwards with his blade.

One of my comrades stepped in and blocked with his shield, pushing the uruk hai back with a shove as i got to my feet, looking at the scattered remnants of our company. We had been ambushed by an Uruk hai raiding party, who had been hiding in a cave well hidden by vines and bushes which they had trampled in their mad rush to attack us.

I picked my sword up off the ground, the same sword my teacher had given me so long ago, my youthful innocence seeming like a fairytale in this bloodshed. I got back onto my feet, gripping my sword tightly, hoping to inherit my instructor’s confidence somehow.

“To me!” i yelled, calling for the men to rally around me, “We may die this day, but we shall not go like cowards swinging a torch in the dark, no! we shall cut with purpose and fight together for we are better than these bastards! They have nothing to fight for and we have everything to lose!” A cheer rang out through the valley as we regrouped, a few men getting cut down as they tried to make it to my position but once we were all together we formed up shoulder to shoulder, holding our ground and covering each others mistakes as the clash of metal and the screams of combat permeated the valley.

By the time night had come the remaining living beings in the valley was a single digit number, i sat slumped up against a tree as the other men in my company checked the fallen for any still alive.

“Alright, up you go.” one of my comrades said as they hoisted me onto their shoulder and i mustered up the strength to barely walk, “you carried the day friend, i’ll admit i had my doubts as to why they put you in command of our company but you are a natural leader i think.”

“Thanks… friend” i replied, then passed out.

“Don’t worry sir, we’ll get you back to Edoras, you deserve it.” the man said, his voice wavering as he shifted me onto his back. “Whether you need healing or a funeral, i swear you’ll make it back.”