The King's Gift by françawën

The Halls of Rath Dînen are the place where Gondor honours and remembers the Great of its past. Statues, effigies and plaques to the Kings of old, the great Stewards and glorified warriors line the vaults and niches. So do those in memory of famous poets, seafarers, medics. Those who enter and care to look closely will notice countless details; little frescoes on the pedestal that show scenes of diplomatic life, for example. There are seen in the carvings great ambassadorial meetings with emissaries of Elves, Dwarves and Men from far-off kingdoms, fleets encountering exotic maritime life such as the whales of Belaegir or the giant kraken, caravans from the Harad , Khand and beyond laden with spices, silk and precious metal. But there are also details of the life in Gondor as seem mundane, both happy and sad ones. There is the procession of mourners carrying a coffin to the final rest, yet also the family of a deceased shown on a wedding feast. On some of the statues, the stonemasons set their signature or even their own little image into the frescoes. Thus, a memory of the makers of Rath Dînen stays with us, even though few of them ever reached a status high enough to afford them a resting place among "the Great".

Any visitors to the Halls of course have to and will pass along the Central Axis, the line of the statues of the Kings of old; Elendil and Isildur by the Entrance, majestic and imposing just as their much larger statues on the banks of Anduin by Rauros, yet much finer detailed. The Elendilmir on his brow, Elendil appears to gaze longingly into the Sunset, staring out past the huge bronze doors into the Sunset and towards Atalante that he so loved and that is lost. Isildur stands there opposite him with the sword raised for the Great Blow that struck down the Enemy, life-like in his fighting pose with his hair in swing and his shield-arm blocking the strike of Sauron's mace. There also you find Hyarmendacil on his great horse arrayed in the triumph garb of the victor and wearing the winged crown, with banners, shields and tokens of all his conquests to the feet of his steed. You see Umbarcadil, whose pedestal is shaped to look as if he stood at the bow of a ship of war, wearing the Umbarian brocade robes of his grand return voyage. Romendacil's statue has him blow a Great Horn of an Ox of Araw, and Eldacar stands there, in full Gondorian royal ornate yet lovingy embracing the statue of his elderly mother from the North, though she died 150 years ere him. Eärnur is seen to hand the rod of office to his steward kneeling before him, beginning the line of Mardil.

So all the Kings are found there, each with their attributes, finely worked of Ithilien Marble or Granite from the White Mountains, inlaid with silver or mithril or adorned with pearls from the Southern Coasts. Solemn, victorious, sad, or joyful are their expressions, and some say studying the craftsmanship of the statues reveals more about the Kings than studying the scrolls in the archives of the Tower of Guard. All the long line of Anarion is found there, till the last King - and then starting again with the figure of King Elessar.

King Elessar's statue stands out. This is not just because he was the tallest King in the line bar Elendil, nor because of the Green Light of the Elfstone on his breast, and the banner of the White Tree and the seven Stars by his feet, worked in mithril. Nor is it because of all the scenes from the wedding of Aragorn&Arwen, showing the Ringbearers, the Istar, the Wise and conveying the joy of that day so vividly that a visitor may be inclined to clink glasses with them and give a toast. No, it is also because of what rests on the pedestal next to the Great King. The right hand of the King holds the sceptre of Annuminás high. Yet his left is raised to rest, gracefully, and even, as some say, maybe caressing, on the giant skull of a beast of war, beast of terror - an Oliphaunt. That skull is real, not carved of stone, and though the lower jaw is missing, it still reaches near shoulder-height to the King. The tusks of the beast almost circle the statue, one foot of the King a little raised to step onto one of the tusks of the beast.

To this day, Embassies from the Southern Lands, as they arrive in Minas Anor, never fail to visit the Halls and show their reverence, to King and mighty Beast alike.

None of the records of the Halls explain why the King rests together with the Oliphaunt. Some in Gondor say it is a gesture of victory, having vanquished the host of the Harad and their mighty cavalry of Oliphaunts, a triumphal pose of subjugation over the raw forces arrayed against Gondor in the War of the Ring.

Others though point out that symbols of the restoration of the Glory of Gondor, and monuments to the victories of the restored realms of the Dunedain are found across Minas Anor - and elsewhere - aplenty, many of them of Elessar arrayed in the armor of the citadel, bearing weapons, striking down foes, knighting mighty warriors, rising thriumphant; they ask why his statue in Rath Dinen appears to look at the Oliphaunt with a glad face as that of a friend, touch the skull caressingly as one would a favourite companion. 

And neither faction, nor any records of Elessar's reign and beyond, report a name for the beast. It only is known, and that in several parts of the realm, as "The King's Gift". Historians aren't the only ones who argue about the term. Not even in all of Gondor do they agree who was the King, what was the Gift, and who received it. 

Amongst the many legends of King Elessars long life and reign, there are those that tell us about the Great Oliphaunt. Minas Anor, Pelargir and Umbar remember the beast, and all of them know their respective story as "The King's Gift". And all three of them strongly believe that their meaning of the term is the only one that is true.

Chapter End Notes

I've always wondered what stories the Dunedain have about their "Great", and just won't believe that their memorials are all sad and angry about "the Gift of Men". Proud, yes, and I can so totally believe that for "King's Men", even vengeful or expressive of supremacy. But I do truly believe that most Dunedain want to remember in ways that show joy and legacy. And there must be stories to that, right?

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During the reign of King Elessar, the great menagerie of the Kings in Minas Anor held many exotic beasts of wonder from all corners of the realm and beyond. Giraffes and Cheetahs from the great steppes of Khand in the East were there as were Rhinos and Lions from Harad; a great Oxen of Araw with horns as wide as the height of a man grazed on the meadows of the Pellenor in those days, a pair of Great White Bears from Forodwaith lived in the menangerie even. Yet none of them as impressive, nor any more exotic, than the Great Oliphaunt. The Beast had no name that made it to the books of lore, but it was known in the City of Gondor only as "the King's Gift". It was, so claim the people of the Citadel, the only survivor of the Great Beasts of the Army from Harad that Elessar, the Grey Company and the Host of the Dead defeated at the crossings of Poros. They say it was not the least, yet one of the many gifts to Gondor made by King Elessar.

Of the Great Oliphaunt many stories are told at the Tower of the Sun. A gigantic beast it had been. It allowed no armed adults near itself; it was known to have disarmed Guards of the Tower who had strayed within the reach of its great trunk, ripping their swordbelts right off, grabbing that with its trunk and throwing the weapons far out over the walls. It'd sweep of their feet such foolish daredevils who wagered they could approach and touch it. Noone is sure how it sensed such things; a gentle giant it was to most. And it was much more than that to the children of the White City.

Its memory is cherished to this day amongst the children of the citadel. It is said to have loved children beyond measure. It played with them, tickled them gently with its trunk till they would drop the apples they had brought knowing how much it delighted in those, and occasionally it would grab a kid with its trunk, careful as if handling an egg, and lift it onto one of its huge tusks for a short ride. Little carved toy Oliphants became very popular in the early years of the Fourth Age, so it is said. And children of Gondor turned into berserkers if their parents tried to "keep them safe" from the Oliphaunt when the family visited the menangerie.

Did I say it allowed no grown-ups near itself? That is strictly speaking not true. King Elessar loved the animal, and the Oliphaunt loved him back, so they say in Minas Anor. Of anyone in Gondor other than the children, only Elessar could touch it, play with it and feed it those apples it loved so much. And solely Elessar did the Oliphaunt suffer to ride him. The King would step forward to the animal, which lowered its tusk to the ground so the King could mount and climb to its neck; the Oliphaunt would carry him all along the Rhammas Echor trumpeting and caressing Elessar with its trunk. Sometimes, at the King's gesture and call, it'd lift a child up to ride with the King.

They say in Minas Anor that the King always made sure that ambassadors of Umbar and the Harad were introduced to the Oliphaunt, and it is said these visitors always treated the animal with great reverence. There is a claim some make that a young prince of the Harad who accompanied the court of their King on the embassy of F.A. 40 was one of those the Oliphaunt allowed to ride with Elessar, to the great astonishment - and immense pleasure - of the entire court of Harad.

The Great Oliphaunt lived the long life of its kind; it might have become a little slower, a little easier to tire from the children's infinite desire for play, as it aged, yet it remained gentle all its life in Gondor. Well - until the end, that is.

They say that on the day the Great King gave back the gift, and just as he told Queen Arwen that there is more than memory beyond the circles of the world, that the Great Oliphaunt became distressed. It began trumpeting wildly, and then stampeded through the enclosure. Nothing and noone could calm it. It ran madly across the fields of Pelennor, broke straight through the stone wall of the Rhammas Echor. It is said, this night after Elessar gave back the Gift, to have run all the way to Pelargir, then pacing up and down the old battlefield, sadly trumpeting, sniffing the ground with its trunk in search of something or someone long gone from there, over and over again. And, so goes the story in Minas Anor, that just before the Sun rose on the battlefield of Poros the morning after Elessar's passing, the Great Oliphaunt, in sadness and mourning, sounded a final loud sad note and laid down its life. It'd given back Yavanna's gift. Wheresoever Elessar went, the Oliphaunt was seeking him even in the saddest of hours - so they say in the White City.

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The people of Pelargir, the harbour of Gondor where the Great Battle of the Crossings was fought in the War of the Ring, revere King Elessar for the relief he brought in the victory that the Grey Company and the Army of the Damned won there. And they sure remember the terror of the Oliphaunts when the armies of Umbar and the Harad stormed the havens and besieged the harbour citadel. The Haradrim Cavalry needed no trebuchets, catapults, giant crossbows or other siege engines, veterans tell in awe, recalling how the Oliphaunts threw rocks the size of a man with their trunks, some even trained to fling great javelins like rams of a battleship as if they were light spears. Deadly damage was wrought, and in the center of the onslaught, old men whisper to you with a tremble in their voices, stood the greatest beast of them all. The Great Oliphaunt, with the tower of command on its back, shining golden blades on its tusks, dwarfed all others of the giant beasts. Its fierce trumpeting, seemingly directing the devastation effortlessly, struck terror in the hearts of stout warriors. The tale of the battle of Poros they tell, how the walls had been breached and the vanguard of the Corsairs battled their way into the Citadel of Pelargir under the missile bombardment and the screams of the Mûhmakil, from what they say no less terrifying than had all of the Nine been there. And deep despair befell their hearts as they saw the fleet of Corsair ships ran ashore on the landings. They speak of disbelief and amazement that fell so suddenly when the Grey Company disembarked and Elessar unfolded the banner of the White Tree, when it seemed the humid, hot air of the battle froze and all fell silent as the King of the Dead and his host swept off the boats. All eyes, friend and foe alike, beast and man, from within and without that moment bent towards the green light of the Elessar, as the King held it high and gave the order for battle.

We hear that the first of the army of Harad to move and face the new enemies was the Great Mûhmakil of Command. It is said to have locked eyes with the King, even before the standard unfurled. A great trumpet sound it blew when the light of the Elessar shone forth under the brown and red dark dusty fumes of Orodruin, and then kept standing frozen like a giant sculpture. The men on the walls of Pelargir say no command of the soldiers on its back would make it move then, yet even the host of the Dead would not approach it. All over the field they worsted the host of Harad, and the Dead, the Grey Company, the Elf Legolas, Gimli the Dwarf and the sons of Elrond beat down Corsairs, Haradrim, horses and Oliphaunts  the day and the night. And in the middle of it stood the Great Oliphaunt, silent, frozen, a rock in the storm unfolding around it, watchful yet unassailed by friend or foe - who were they anyway - other than becoming a true pincushion of stray arrows. The son of a former guardsman of the Citadel's drawbridge, himself old and bent with age and barely understandable for lack of teeth, tells the tale that only at the end of the battle did the Oliphaunt move again. King Elessar himself lead the charge against the Immortal Iron Guard of Harad and the Black Knights of Umbar, elite bodyguards to the King of Harad and the Harbourmaster of Umbar as they took the last stand and arrayed themselves around the Great Oliphaunt. In his tale, King Elessar waved to the beast, and that's when it fell to its side, crushing the tower on its back, trashing like a boar rolling in mud to break free from its harnessing; it broke the circle of the guards from within, spearing the Harbourmaster of Umbar with its tusk just as Elessar thrust Anduril through his neck. It then grabbed the King of Harad with its trunk, right from the fighting, swept both Gimli and Legolas off their feet and stampeded off with his "booty". It was not seen till daybreak.

Yet as Elessar assessed the field of slaughter that morning, and went back and forth treating wounds and helping those mortally injured onto their final journey, the moment the Sun rose in the bright sliver of clear skies under the ash clouds from Mount Doom, a new shadow fell over the battlefield. All witnessed the Oliphaunt stepping into the path of the rising Sun. It slowly trotted from the East towards the standard of Elendil, and the host of the Dead, eerily camped on the Field, parted before it. The remnants of its harnessing hang shredded of its huge arched body, and on its back it carried the wounded King of Harad, bleeding of swordstrokes and an Elvish arrow in his leg. The Oliphaunt gently held him with his trunk as to keep him safely there, and the Great Animal walked straight for King Elessar. From a large spear lodged in its side it bled profusely itself, yet it gave no sign of weakness the full mile it walked. It laid itself down before King Elessar, as would a well trained dog, and looked straight at him as it used his trunk to gesture at the figure slung over its back. Then it collapsed unconscious.

Many members of the guards of Pelargir and the Grey Company testify how King Elessar treated the wounded alike that day, whether Gondorrim, Corsairs, Haradrim or Khandi, and all, even the vanquished foes, vouch that he saved the life of the King of Harad then. And they whisper that the evening that day, and the full night, Elessar treated the great beast, washing and dressing its wounds with all the Athelas that could yet be found, and specifically requesting a basket of apples for the beast from the town.

None could say why the King took such fancy to the wildest and strongest fighter amongst the enemies, why he would not celebrate victory by dispatching the beast of war that had been so deadly to them in the fight.

The animal gained consciousness the next morning, as did the King of Harad. As the latter awoke, he is claimed to first asked about his steed, and even be carried on a stretcher to where the animal was kept. When he saw Elessar treating the beast, and the animal softly caressing him with its trunk, seeing him feeding apples to the beast, his minders claim he spoke a few short words in broken Westron, barely understood and variously reported like "you know I know", or "so be what he is", "a gift he has and you have always been", before he fell unconscious again from the strain. The words seemed strange to those who heard, yet Elessar went to the King of Harad, and when he woke, spoke to him thus: "what made us foes is no more, mighty King, and all the Dead who fought the Field bravely shall have their rests now. But you, if Eru so wills, shall ride with me. His gift for yours, my Lord".

Before Elessar left for Minas Tirith, it is told, the Great Oliphaunt rose; it lifted Elessar first, then the King of Harad, no matter the angry shouts of doctors, on its back and carried them to the landings where the Corsair's ships lay. There they parted.

The people of Pelargir say that three weeks later, only barely able due to the wounds of battle every one of them bore, the Haradrim left. Before the crowning of Tar-Telcontar, the King of Harad and the Great Oliphaunt returned to their homes in the South, with as little an entourage as was left of the Host of Harad; even the King, weak as he still was, and his single surviving bodyguard of the Ironclad Immortals, walking only with the help of a crutch, carried food and water on their backs, for the journey of men and beast. So they left, leaving weapons and armour behind, defeated but proud, beaten yet almost healed.

Now many say that, remembering King Elessar's call for Apples the night after the battle, a few children from the harbour carried a big basket of the fruit to present it to the animal as it crouched to pass under the huge Southern Gatehouse. Afraid and in awe these children were, but as the animal saw them and their Gift, it stopped, looked at each of the kids bringing the basket, softly stroked each child's head with its trunk before taking up and carrying the basket away itself at the rear of the little procession.

Humbled they were, say the Pelargians, by the graceful yet steadfast withdrawal of their defeated foes, and long watched the crowd as the Haradrim slowly disappeared towards the Sun. Last to fade into the hazy dust was the Great Oliphaunt. Some swear it turned in the distance, trumpeted and waved its tusk as it got out of sight. Others call that particular story a children's mirage, and the sound just a gust of the hot desert wind that often blows from the Harad. Mirages, and the desert winds, we hear, are common in the heat of the South.

Twice again was the Oliphaunt seen after in Pelargir.

The first time was during King Elessar's Great Embassy to the Harad a year after the War of the Ring; the King rode the Oliphaunt at the head of the caravan, and on to Minas Tirith. A gift for the Gift, and the gift of the Gift it has been, from the King of Harad to Elessar, and the Oliphaunt itself, for sparing and saving his life, that's what they say about the King's Gift in Pelargir.

The second and last time the Great Oliphaunt was afterwards seen in Pelargir was near the morning, during dawn, of the day after the Death of King Elessar. The animal was heard from afar trumpeting loudly, and some of the veterans of the battle who yet lived and had seen it as young esquires and errand boys to the fighters, woke up and asked dazedly about the battle, shaking in memories; the animal half waded, half swam the crossings of Poros, a feat in itself, and paced to and fro over the old battlefield in the twilight of dawn touching the ground here and there, blowing sad notes, as if in remorse or longing memory, as if in search for all those which no longer could abide in this world, whose light had gone out. Some claim it marked the spots where the other Great Oliphaunts were felled in the battle, some say it visited the places where Elessar or the King of Harad had killed a foe that day, and yet others say it showed all the spots where wounded survivors were found after the battle.

They only agree that it finally laid itself down at the very spot where once before it had offered itself, and the King of Harad, to Elessar the day after the battle, 120 years past. It sounded one last loud sad note at the Sun, rising undimmed in the East that moment, and gave itself back to Yavanna.

In Pelargir, they pray to Eru that wherever his Gift takes Men and Beasts, that there this King amongst Animals and these Kings of Men may yet ride again together.

Chapter End Notes

A little more gory.

All good things come in three. I just need to finish the last chapter now. Might take a little before I get it completed; I've sat on the first ones for years without entirely finishing the last ... 

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