Written here is a lay accounting one fateful eve upon the fields of Fornost. It was on this night that Nimrond a Gelebaladh came upon a hound who had been captured by a cruel band of orcs.
The starless night was hushed and chill
The wind was on the weather hills
Their backs, its breath defying
Up in the north the shadows cold
lay bleak on ruins grey and old
and wisps of dry grass sighing
Beneath them ran the wicked paws
of slavering beasts, their foul maws
agape, with howls wailing
While close behind them prowling trod
great evil orcs, so fell and flawed
their feet the earth assailing
Before them lay a darkened door:
behind it slept a family poor
within their fair dreams leaping
Not far beyond, upon the loam
there stood a second lamplight home
against the darkness deepening
The moon looked down with visage pale
while beasts cut down the threshold frail
of the first household pleading
for their young lives and for their kin,
but snarling orcs and wargs did win,
and man and wife lay bleeding
The second house was startled though
by the shrill cries of their grim foe
the thick night fog far piercing
Though brandishing an ancient sword,
its master stood before the horde
and a war song he did sing
The orcs bore down upon him then
and would have stolen life again
despite his brave heart daring
But through the night came like a bolt
a fearsome hound in great revolt;
his jaws and nostrils flaring!
In haste to keep his man from harm
the dog bit down upon an arm
of the great goblin leading
And thus a burning torch was dropped
upon the crackling grass uncropped
and fire came strong and speeding
The homestead’s master made to flee
while his attackers yelled with glee
and set their wargs upon him
With haunting howls they ran him down
into the burning landscape brown;
his death came quickly and grim
The hound remained the last of all
to stand before the orcs so tall
and fight with will unbroken
He leapt again to use his teeth
against armour and flesh beneath,
A spark in him awoken!
Indeed he put up quite a fight
and often did his sharp teeth bite
the claws upon him falling
But Ah! He was alone indeed
so over time he lost his speed
and fell at long last, sprawling
The orcs then bound his long legs up
to make a meal of the poor pup;
A small one, though delicious!
Such work had made them all quite starved
they needed meat prepared and carved
between their jaws so vicious
So with a loud, resounding, crack!
A lash came down upon his back
to take the last fight from him
Before the whip came down again
an arrow shot that hand in twain
out of the darkness so dim
A shout went up among the brood,
for two high elves before them stood
with bright eyes clear and glaring
In cloaks of green and silver-white,
and mail that shone from firelight
their blades unsheathed and raring
The orcs and elves in tandem roared
And charged across the burning sward
Their minds each filled with rancour
The orcs were numbered many more
but these elves blessed weapons bore,
and ages full of anger
They struck each foe until it fell
and sounded many a death knell
at last rising victorious!
The evil host was quelled at last!
The heroes held each other fast:
such victory for them glorious
A moment passed before their gaze
was drawn to something in the haze;
A bloodied, feeble figure
upon the fringe of battle won
was whimpering, though was not undone,
though he had lost his vigour
Nimrond A Gelebaladh came,
their once fierce eyes now soft and tame
and voices gently whispering
To kneel upon the groaning ground
and calm the brave, but hurting hound
whose paws and snout were blistering
The elven lord bore him away,
the lady following always; fey
across the landscape fallow
Behind them lay, while grey wind cried
dead orcish faces grinning wide
in smouldering graves so shallow
Before them, glimmering as they flew
the starless night was turning blue
as dawn rose up to greet them
They laid the poor dog on the grass
and the two elves did then forecast
He would become their bright gem
The lady bound his aching feet
with cool wet cloths and poultice sweet
to ease their painful smarting
While her companion cleaned his hide
and stitched the wounds upon his side,
fond words to him imparting
The hound at last did lift his head
from where the two had made his bed,
his tail all set to wagging
For he knew then he had been saved
from being eaten or enslaved,
And he felt joy unflagging
From that day on the trio stayed
together, for a bond was laid
upon them, unassailable
Wherever the two elves would ride
the hound ran sprightly, at their side,
with love always available
And they bestowed on him a name -
Aranrŷn was who he became,
a title great and gallant!
For never was a dog more bold
or with a heart of brighter gold:
Their noble chaser valiant!
