No Last Stand by elennalore
Fanwork Notes
Written for the Dark Matter challenge. My prompts (that won't appear in the ficlet) are 1. Motifs and Tropes: last stand and 2. Words and Letters: commas.
Fanwork Information
Summary: An Orc is writing to their loved one in the War of Wrath. Major Characters: Original Character(s), Orcs Major Relationships: Genre: Drama, Experimental, Ficlet Challenges: Dark Matter Rating: Teens Warnings: In-Universe Racism/Ethnocentrism, Violence (Mild) |
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Chapters: 1 | Word Count: 295 |
Posted on 22 February 2025 | Updated on 22 February 2025 |
This fanwork is complete. |
No Last Stand
Read No Last Stand
To Kerûk at the command centre
I hope you are well. Excuse me for this hastily written letter. I took shelter from the great battle but it won’t be for long until bloodshed moves this way. The wrath of the Powers is immense. I have seen that they won’t show any mercy toward our kind.
I witnessed Ancalagon fall like a dark mountain from the sky. A piercing light like one of the Silmarils is moving around the battlefield. My troops were terrified of the light that can burn your skin off if you go near. We lost Asha that way.
I should not frighten you with my stories. I know you have a strong heart but this chaos would be too much for even you. I’m writing to you for only one reason. Please hear me now.
I have inside information: the Lieutenant is nowhere to be found. He should be here with us but he has vanished. I have only one explanation for this: it will be hopeless to continue fighting. I can’t leave the battlefield – but you can still escape. It will be the only hope.
Let me tell you: there will be no last stand. We are already defeated. They will kill everyone except those who are able to escape like our Lieutenant did. The hope of our people will lie in those who survive.
Please hear my words and act before it’s too late. I know this is much to ask. You are not raised to yield. But you must do this! Go as far from this place as possible. Seek the Lieutenant if you can. He will know what to do next. He always knows.
I’ll pray for you. My love.
Gimbu
♡
Very poignant, such desperate despair intermingled with hope for their loved one.
awwww that was very bitter…
awwww that was very bitter-sweet. I hope Keruk will make it out. This captured the feeling of being stuck on that battle field really well!
Great title! And what an…
Great title! And what an interesting idea! So much to think about here. 'I will pray for you' of course makes me wonder who Orcs pray to - I confess I hadn't thought about this before. I really enjoyed reading this. (And I've written a comma-free comment!)
The comma-less style really…
The comma-less style really fits a communication from the battlefield like this!
No way out for Gimbu, but perhaps still a way for Keruk.
Literate and loving orcs
How wonderful. How awful. Orcs are people with lives and hopes (even if they are evil hopes), but it is so easy to forget that.