Celeborn's Nine - Riders of the Night

Night was descending on the mountain and Khamul decide it was time to personally handle the elves and men. Striding down to the cells where the shape shifter was being kept, he peered inside the cell and was impressed by the way she had held up to Dunz 'instructions'. Even splattered with blood, she had enough spirit left to raise her head and hiss. He had hoped having her in his possession would have made the elves do something stupid, but apparently they had better discipline than he had first imagined. Even the one she had ridden with was not showing himself.

Seeing if he could get a rise out of her, he said, "I am going now to destroy your friends."

She shape shifted back into a woman and said, "Lord Celeborn will not let it happen."

The Nazgul laughed viciously and said, "We'll see." Spinning on his heels, his spurs clicking omeniously on the granite floor, Khamul went to prepare his fell beast.

Tiger pressed her face against the cell bars and said, "Celestial." Hearing orcs coming, she turned back into a tiger and growled a warning at them. She already taught two of them that a jinn tiger's claws were very sharp.
..........................................................................................

Celeborn knew something was about to happen, and he was glad he had moved his riders to higher ground. The Galadhrim were up the highest with their bows at ready. A vicious roar that Aragorn's party recognized as a fell beast echoed off the cliff walls and reverberated through the valley. Khamul was coming out to face them, and he was preparing to bring some troops with him.

"Well, this is what we wanted," Glorfindel told Celeborn as he readied his own bow. "Eleven elves, three men and a dwarf....we are one fine army."

"No one told you to come," Celeborn growled back.

"I wouldn't have missed this for anything," Glorfindel mused as he drew his arrow and waited. "Not for anything."

The fell beast, screaming his threat, started to rise from the keep as the gate appeared and slowly opened. The dark creature cleared the wall and then did something funny; it threw its hind legs out. A powerful roar split the sky and everyone looked up as a riderless Celestial plowed into the fell beast. But the dragon was not here to fight the fell beast; he was answering the desperate pleas of a jinn tiger.

Haldir abandoned his position as the dragon rammed the gate and threw it off its hinges. Leaving his bow behind, he drew his sword and caught up with the dragon as it entered the keep. Furious at the dark creatures that were trying to hurt it, it snapped and slashed with fang and claw. Haldir did his best to assist the dragon, his blade dispatching those that escaped the dragon. He was quickly joined by Aragorn and his retainers and Gimli.

Celestial seemed to know where he was going, and Haldir followed. When the dragon came to a wall, it reared up and slashed at it. Haldir found a doorway and entered, confident that the dragon would keep any trouble off his back. Easing down the cell area, he found himself facing a pair of snarling orcs. Enraged, the orcs attacked the elf, who stood his ground and then did a spin that took off two heads. It was a smooth move that had worked so many times he was surprised the orcs hadn't caught on to it.

"Tiger!" he called to her. "Tiger!"

Tiger heard him and grabbed the cell bars. "Master! Master!"

Haldir was horrified by what he saw, but he was also relieved she was still alive. Going back to the dead orcs, he found the keys that would unlock her cell and freed her. There was only a second for a quick hug, and then he grabbed her hand and dragged her after him. They could hear Celestial roaring outside. If he could get her to the dragon, he knew she would be safe.
..................................................................................
Celeborn was amazed at how calm he was facing Khamul, and the Nazgul acted as if he had been waiting his entire life for this moment. Sword to sword, one was not leaving the field alive. Swords flashed as the two combatants tore into each other, the Nazgul actually driving the elf lord back. Celeborn spun away from the Nazgul and brought his sword against the dark rider's side, but the black armor beneath deflected the blow. It became Elven speed against Nazgul strength. A kiss from the Nazgul blade burned Celeborn's arm, but he shut the pain out of his mind and stayed after the creature. No quarter, no mercy. Was that not how Elf and orc fought each other? Was that not how the Nazgul fought all?

Elven speed against Nazgul strength. Celeborn allowed the Nazgul to drive him, but then the elf lord opened himself for a strike, a calculated move that drew the Nazgul in. Celeborn's blade sliced through the air so quickly there was no way to fix on it, but the Nazgul's head seperated from his body and rolled to the ground. Celeborn stood over him, blade up, eyes burning savagely, his mind not yet registering what he saw told him was so; the Nazgul was dead.
.......................................................................

The demise of their leader threw the orcs and humans with them into a panic. Glorfindel, seeing the battle won, ran to Celeborn as the celestial dragon stepped out of the keep looking for the fell beast.

"You did it!" he shouted. "You did it!" Then he stopped and looked down. An arrow was quivering in his body, just under his breast bone. The balrog slayer fell to his knees as dark blood spilled from his shattered heart. He tried to catch himself, but there was no strength in his arms. He died before he hit the ground.

Celeborn ran to his friend and lifted him into his arms, but Glorfindel was gone. He didn't know what to do, what to feel, what to think. His mind couldn't grasp what he knew was true. How could Glorfindel be dead?

Haldir and Tiger joined him. She looked bad. "Glory Findel," she whispered tersely in disbelief. "No. No." Grabbing Celeborn's tunic, she said, "The fish. the fish."

The fish. Celeborn took the fish out of his pouch and decided this was the wrong he wanted righted. He then threw it as hard as he could from him. It shattered on the ground.


Celestial roared as he came out of the keep looking for the fell beast. Celeborn looked around for Glorfindel who was running towards him. Speeding towards the elf lord, Celeborn knocked him to the ground as an arrow whizzed by. Legolas fired and killed the human who had been foolish enough to think he could take out an elf lord.

"That was close," Glorfindel gasped and sat up.

"Yes, it was," Celeborn agreed as Haldir and Tiger ran up. She looked terrible, but she was excited that Celestial was there. Was she ever not excited?

Aragorn and his team decided it would be best if they stayed with the dragon and followed it outside. Celestial advanced on the fell beast, but outside of some real noisy hissing and snapping, the fell beast didn't put up much of a fight. Celestial literally seperated its head from its long neck. He then sat down and purred with great satisfaction. Haldir told Tiger to stay with him while they went into the Keep to check things out. Anything with any sense was fleeing and they wanted to see if there were any papers or other things that needed to be preserved.

When they returned Tiger was telling Celestial all about a pari she had met named Mena. The dragon, his jeweled eyes swirling with their own light, simply purred.

Now that he could see Tiger's injuries,the black bruises and lash marks, Haldir was filled with a terrible rage. He wanted to rekill the orcs that had hurt her, but the injuries would have been worse if she had not taken the beatings in her tiger body. Aragorn tended to her, but that wasn't good enough. Haldir wanted her taken to Longma's Keep to wait for him there. He did not want her riding on the back of a horse or running beside him; he wanted Celestial to take her back now. He wanted Longma to see to her. And it made sense, except Tiger did not want to be seperated from him.

"You've ridden the dragon," he told Glorfindel. "Please take her back to Longma. "

"You can take her," Glorfindel said. "There' nothing to it."

Haldir hesitated. He was actually just a little afraid, but Tiger needed to be somewhere safe where her injuries could be taken care of. With reluctance he got on the dragon and held Tiger close to him. Celestial stopped purring and leaped skyward.
...............................................................

Longma was at the pond when Celestial returned. She had been surprised by the dragon's abrupt departure, but now that she could see Tiger, she understood. Tiger didn't want to be seperated from the elf, but Longma was able to convince her that for a little while, she would survive.