Elfin Queen Galadriel's Help

The forest was eerily quiet as we approached the river. Our horses began snorting, becoming hesitant to move forward. One of our hunting dogs picked up a scent and ran off toward the West. We could at once hear its cries and yelps as it was being attacked by some unknown beast. 

We summarily took a protective stance, encircling our horses and the dogs in the middle of the protective ring we formed. Sixteen knights and eight squires, all facing outward, armed with spears and broad swords, against an unseen enemy. 

My loyal owl Lulac, sensing danger headed out to our closest ally, the Elfin Queen Galadriel, for help against what we now surmised to be an advanced war party of Arcadians sent to test our defenses of Ashthorne Manor. 

Upon arrival at the Queen’s palace, Lulac was welcomed. Recognizing her, the Queen was able to touch her and determine where she had flown from and assess her level of fear. Knowing that Lulac would never leave me voluntarily, she summoned a war party of highly skilled archers and swordsmen to follow Lulac to our location in the forest. 

Prince Lorsan, the Queen’s son, led the war party of 150 archers and swordsmen to aid us in battle. They arrived that night, as we were just entering a battle with the Arcadians after dusk. 

Upon arrival, Prince Lorsan and his warriors followed Lulac directly to Sir Giric.  

“Greetings Sir Giric. The Queen gladly agrees to provide her support to you, Sir Giric. I am Prince Lorsan, her son. I’ve brought some of our finest warriors to aid you in deterring the threat you face. She also asked me to convey that as allies, we will stand beside you should this threat escalate to war!” 

“Your Queen is a loyal ally, and we are forever indebted to her for her actions.” 

Before Prince Lorsan could respond, three Arcadians emerged from the trees. Without hesitation, his archers placed at least ten arrows into each, rendering them incapable of further attack. 

Giric’s men charged them and made sure they were dead before retreating to the circle. 

At once, the Arcadian war party charged Giric and the Elves. Arrows flew quickly from the elves, and Giric’s men and the elven swordsmen advanced to eliminate the first-round threat. With no injuries to Giric and the elves, they retreated several kilometers and sent a warning with Lulac back to Ashthorne Manor to alert King MacAlpin of the impending threat to Ashthorne Manor. 

Prince Lorsan also sent a message to the Queen telepathically. He informed her of the impending danger, and for her to prepare to dispatch more resources to Ashthorne Manor to protect their human allies. 

She dispatched over a thousand elves to Ashthorne Manor and informed them to prepare ambushes for the Arcadians along the way. 

King MacAlpin also dispatched over twelve hundred knights and foot soldiers to take control of the rings around Ashthorne Manor to slow down the advance of the Arcadians, who maintained their march on the Manor. 

Along the way, the Arcadians were able to overpower several small outposts of knights and squires, leaving grotesque, bloody remnants of humans that anyone who happened to see, would be terrified by. 

As the Arcadians advanced, the King’s forces filled the tunnels with pitch and ignited them when the first Arcadian war party arrived. Foot soldiers kept feeding the fire with bundles of dried branches that caused the flames to reach over 3 meters high, the average height of an Arcadian. 

They were successful in slowing down the Arcadian’s advance by over ten hours, enough time for the Elves and the Kings men to position themselves in the second and third rings. Archers were also placed at the second ring to inflict maximum losses on the Arcadians, many of which continued to advance, even with fatal wounds. 

King MacAlpin and the Elves underestimated the overall size of the invading force. Luckily, the Queen, never underestimating an enemy, reached out to the Irish to come to the aid of the Scottish King MacAlpin. They arrived just as it looked like the invading force might overrun Ashthorne Manor’s defenses. 

King Sean O’Tearnea, led a fierce fighting force of over fifteen hundred veteran knights and foot soldiers into battle, engaging the advancing Arcadians as soon as their boats landed on the shores of Scotland. 

He met up with King MacAlpin when he arrived at the third ring of Ashthorne Manor.  

“So, MacAlpin, I am not too particularly fond of Scotsman, but I would rather have you as a neighbor than these vile creatures. Let’s just say that you own me quite a few barrels of whiskey when we’re done.” 

“Agreed, O’Tearnea, if you survive the battle.” 

“MacAlpin, the Irish could be dead and still come to claim their whiskey!” 

“Aye, so be it!” 

“Now let’s get rid of these hideous creatures.” 

With that said, the Elves, Scottish, and Irish warriors devised their attack plan on the Arcadians. They decided to use the elven archers to eliminate as many of the attackers as they could, letting them walk into the waiting swords and lances of the formidable, fierce, Irish warriors. 

With this strategy, over two-thirds of the Arcadians were eliminated, leaving the Scots to eliminate the remaining threat. To their dismay, the Arcadians did not expect the Elves and Irish to attack from the rear as they engaged the Scotts, leaving them exposed and unable to properly defend themselves. 

Within hours, the Arcadian threat was neutralized. However, news of this defeat would quickly get back to the Arcadian Leader Mondor. He would not take this defeat lightly. Within months, a new wave of Arcadian warriors would arrive to avenge their defeat. It was not a time to rejoice, but a time to replenish supplies, heal wounds, and prepare for the coming onslaught.