Meadwine and Meadowyn had before fought among the ranks, on foot. And the wars brought them to the lands further East, to Gondor. There the two fought side by side in many battles and they were a fearsome two, potent soldiers upon the front.
There was word of some Corsair ships advancing upon the shores night a town, yet to pillage this town they had to cross a wide field. And that is where the men of Rohan found themselves stationed, their shields were to be held between the advancing corsairs and the town. Yet to their dismay they saw that upon the sea many vessels were floating, beyond the count they were told, and the numbers of foes that came upon the land was even greater. They were outnumbered greatly and they formed their shield-wall, before the gathering numbers of their foe that seemed to grow beyond count. The men of the Rohirrim were no more than fifty and one hundred men and women strong. And dread fell upon them, the Ceorl was stubborn and hard-headed. he would not heed any who asked or begged him to flee, instead he spoke true and mighty words to the men and thus he bolstered their courage and their hearts were strengthened and set a kindled to defend the free-folk.
And thus the battle was begun. The screaming was loud and clatter of swords and shield echoed upon the fields, here and there a man fell dead. And the Rohirrim found themselves quickly at a loss, for they were overwhelmed and their men were falling, and for all their efforts they gained little avail. For their enemies' numbers were still great.
Suddenly cries from a soldier were heard among the ranks of the Eorlingas, 'The Ceorl! The Ceorl has fallen, woe betide us, the battle is lost. Flee, men of the Mark, flee to fight-' reluctant soldiers fell silent when their ears beheld the voice of a woman in wonder, 'Nay! Flee not, our Ceorl has fallen! Let us die beside him with a song upon our tongues. I will not flee, I will see this battle through!' bellowed the voice of Meadowyn. Their enemies' advance was stayed, for they had thought that victory was already theirs. The Rohirrim in wonder, were yet doubtful until another voice another made his way through the men that remained until he found Meadowyn standing beside the fallen Ceorl's body, there was a banner upon the grass beside the Ceorl and grim looks were upon the Eorlingas' faces, some had already fled by then. 'Is this it then?' asked Meadwine who had by then made his way to his sister's side, his voice boomed loudly, 'Is this it? Is this the courage of the men-folk of the Mark? A woman has the courage to stand beside her Ceorl and fight till her last breath is drawn, but your faces hold naught but doubt.' And then the man gazed upon Meadowyn in wonder, for there was a fearsome look upon her face and there was no sign of doubt nor fear in her eyes. A short silence passed as the men shared meaningful glances with each other, and suddenly Meadowyn cried out a loud battle cry, at once Meadwine joined her followed by the rest of the Eorlingas who turned to gaze upon their enemies once more.
Meadwine had taken many hurts in the battle, his helm was no longer upon his head and his shield was broke. There were tears to be seen in his mail and there was sweat mixing with the blood upon his brow. Some of his pale locks of hair wildly came before his face. Thus he stooped and reached for the banner that lied beside the Ceorl and he bore it in his left hand, his sword upon his right.
Meadowyn lifted her sword high and then pointed it towards her enemies' who too looked upon the Eorlingas, some with amusement and others with dismay. And thus they charged forth, and Meadowyn's voice sang aloud with a song:
A sword was held between her hardened fingers
A shield was buckled upon her forearm
Her form was hidden beneath mail of iron
Her beauty was hidden beneath a helm of iron
And so the Eorlingas clashed with the Corsairs, the colliding sounds of swords echoed among the ranks and cries of men were loud. Meadwine was wielding both sword and the banner that he bore as a weapon to the wonder of many folk who beheld the fury and rage boiling in his body. All the men, save for Meadwine ,sang with Meadowyn, and their voices echoed above the sound of battle:
No Husband will she take
And no children shall she bring
To the sword was given her love
Shield-maiden, o' shield-maiden, no man shall make you wife!
Their courage was bolstered so strongly that the men fought strong through despair and their fear was gone. Many fell with their swords in their arms, but for each Eorling that fell three or more Corsairs had fallen, not even this was enough to turn the tide of the battle. Meadowyn fought valiantly and many foes fell to her sword, some Corsairs grew to fear the woman and moved elsewhere when her singing voice came nigh. Meanwhile Meadwine's foes came upon him like a tide upon a rocky shore, and yet he was not dismayed, nor brought down. The shaft of his banner snapped at the lower end with which he used to shove and smite some of his foes, splinters flew through the air and the banner's lower end was now a lethal point of splinter-wood.
And thus he foes came up him; one he impaled deep with the broken banner shaft, another he bested with the skill and might in his sword arm. He drew his banner and sword from his fallen foes and went forth to slay more that stood in his path
Yet all songs must end and Meadowyn's song soon ended and fear returned again to the ranks of the Eorlingas. Yet to their fortune Meadowyn took it upon herself to captain the men, 'Fall back! Rebuild the shield-wall, shields to the fore-front!' Her voice commanded and the men followed her orders willingly, their shield-wall was rebuilt once more and their enemies number had fallen many more than theirs, yet they were still out numbered and nigh surrounded by their foes as arms that sought to come to around them. 'Show them no fear,' bellowed Meadowyn, 'spare them no quarter! They have robbed us of our Ceorl, and we shall avenge this ill deed with the head of their own captain ere we die today! Men of the Mark, I say to you: Show them no fear and spare them no quarter!' loud cries were heard among the men, and so loud was Meadowyn's voice that it went deep amidst their enemies' numbers.
Suddenly a drum began to play loudly and among the ranks of Corsairs a gap was opened. And through it came a broad, tall and mighty dark man with a sneer upon his face. Many men looked upon him with fear, for he was greater in size than they. He stood before his own and gazed upon the shield-wall of the Rohirrim with searching eyes. 'Bold words for a woman.' said he, and laughter was heard among his men, 'If you are as bold as speak to be then come forth and face me!' Meadowyn took this taunt without hesitation, she stepped through the shield-wall, but Meadwine approached her to halt her before it. His eyes were hardened and he held a strong hand around her arm.
Then Meadowyn gazed upon his eyes and knew that he did not wish her to go forth, and she sought to pull her arm from his grasp, but his hand was mightier. 'Meadowyn,' he said, 'Nay, do not do this.' his words were not wrought of selfishness, but of love for his sister. And her eyes softened upon his as she spoke on with fear growing in her voice and heart, 'Brother, do not stay me, is it not time that I put to trial all that you have taught me? I am strong, you know this, you say so yourself and you have seen it.' Meadwine's eyes remained hard as he spoke to her, 'This foe is beyond you, Meadowyn! He will slay you and I shall not watch and wait for-' His words were stayed by sudden bellowing impatience from the Corsairs' captain: 'Is talking all that you two are good for? We do not speak upon the battlefield, here we slay! Come quick, if you cannot decide then I shall slay you both together!' and then Meadwine and Meadowyn both turned to glare upon the Corsair with sudden burning flare of fury in their eyes.
Their attention now wholly given to the great Corsair. Meadwine brandished his sword once more and it sang as he swung it through the air. 'Very well then,' he said to Meadowyn, 'come, sister. Let us face him together then. He is mighty enough to slay many men upon his own, perhaps. We shall see. Let us go together!' His hand clasped upon his sword hilt, and to those words Meadowyn did not reply, instead she ran to meet her foe, Meadwine followed not far behind. Within the hands of the Corsair were two swords. One rose to meet Meadowyn's attack and so it did, with a clank upon her own sword it stayed her movements and she was forced back by the mighty arm of the wielder, yet Meadwine come forth then and the Corsair rose yet his other blade. And with another clang it met Meadwine's sword, yet Meadwine still he the shattered banner-shaft and he thrust it forward into the Corsair's thigh. Suddenly he let out a loud cry and many men were shaken by it, but not Meadwine, nor Meadowyn. Their hearts were ablaze with a fiery fury to slay the man, and the boil of battle burnt the hottest in them. Thus they assailed the crippled foe together and he was bested, fallen to the edge of Meadowyn, the sheild-maiden's sword and loud cries of joy were heard among the Rohirrim while horror and fear shivered down the spines of the Corsairs, leaderless.
Yet Meadowyn was not weary. She turned to look upon the Corsairs and rose her sword high, the crimson blood painted upon it glistened in the light of the setting sun, and thus she brought it down with a loud cry. 'Slay them, slay them all!' she shouted and thus charged a fair few paces ahead of the Rohirrim line, and Meadwine followed closely. The Rohirrim coming behind them and a song of victory was upon their tongues. In dismay and fear the Corsairs turned to flee before the Shield-maiden, yet she came upon them quickly and cut through the backs of many along with Meadwine, ere they could truly escape the Rohirrim.
And so the battle was ended and the men chanted Meadowyn's name loud, and the final rays of the sun's gaze kissed upon the lands as the Corsair fleet retreated to whence they came. And Meadowyn in her glory had forgotten the aid of her brother, for it was not his name chanted, it was hers. Yet Meadwine was no bitter man to his sister, and he was glad for the praise and glory that she received.
Then they gathered their dead and built a mound for them, working through the night. Meadwine stabbed the shattered banner-shaft upon it and the banner upon it blew in the night's breeze. The men sang songs of mourning for their fallen before they left to find the comfort of a friendly hall where they may celebrate the victory and toast to those who had fallen for it.
There Meadwine approached his sister, his wounds were seen to while the men made merry. And yet there was aught enclosed in his hand. 'Meadowyn,' he said, 'come with me.' She gazed upon him with curiosity, yet followed and they left the hall. Before the doors within the cold of night he turned to her and opened his hand, within there was a silver brooch that was once worn by the Ceorl of their company. He pinned it to her breast and said, 'Meadowyn, today you have done great deeds. Your sword has felled many a foe and still a greater one fell to it. And yet it was also your sword that brought these men to victory, and upon their behalf I thank you. Not only do I thank you, but I bestow this upon you. It is not my right to give, yet were you Ceorl I would follow you to death, sister.' A smile come upon her lips and she embraced her brother who's injured body pained within her grasp, yet he did not show it.
