Chapter 03: Of Taurensil

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Taurensil was born into war.  Even in the Years of the Trees in Valinor, before Morgoth's return to Middle Earth, his orcs prowled Taurensil's homelands.  Raised in the lands that would come to be called Nevrast, Taurensil accepted these raids as a simple fact of life.  In many skirmishes, he soon distinguished himself as a fearless warrior and capable leader. 

Taurensil's prowess as a leader gained him a reputation as an aggressive tactician.  Being raised near the River Narog, he drew on his maritime experience to confound and confuse the orc raiding parties.  Orcs do not like water, and Taurensil used that to his advantage, leading his own raiding parties up and down the rivers to evade orc patrols, circle back by land, and attack the orcs from behind.  This reputation soon began to show in Taurensil's attitude.  He became proud and arrogant of his abilities.  And this pride soon cost him a dear friend.

He had split his force, leaving one part behind to act as bait, while he led the other around and behind a raiding party they had been tracking for days.  Caught between the two forces, his warriors could destroy it in detail.  It was a tactic he had used many times and he felt confident that it would work again.  But this time was different.

This orc captain was no fool.  He guessed Taurensil's tactic and countered it with his own.  He, too, had divided his force in much the same way as Taurensil, and for the same reason.  Taurensil had seen the signs of the orc flanking attack and was convinced that it was meant to encircle him.  After all, he was the one called "Orcbane" by his enemies.  Why wouldn't the orcs try to kill him? 

But the encircling force was not meant for him.  The orc captain had detected Taurensil's "bait" and knew that Orcbane would try to encircle him.  The captain decided to use this to his own advantage.  He used Orcbane's tactic against him and attacked the "bait" from front and rear.  Caught by surprise, this Elvish band was defeated quickly, every member slain.  While the wry Elvish leader circled around, the orcs reorganized, determined to repeat their victory against Orcbane's party. 

But the expected orc victory never happened.  Being an unruly and untrusting race, the orcs began to fight amongst themselves over the leadership of the band, and this is when Taurensil attacked.  Every orc was slaughtered, either by Elvish bow and sword or by their own kindred.  It was when the orc bodies were searched that Taurensil learned of his brother's death; one of the foul creatures carried his brother's weapon, a matching sword to his own. 

Taurensil knew that his pride had clouded his judgment.  He had known that the flanking attack had been meant for his brother's party, and he knew what the outcome would be, but he could not fathom the possibility that he could be outwitted by such a stupid race.  He would not make that mistake again.

Many more years passed and Taurensil continued to lead the defense of his homeland.  Though he never held any official title or rank, it was generally understood that he was in charge.  When he arrived at a village, everyone deferred to his authority.  This proved to be invaluable when Taurensil embarked on his greatest battle.

The campaign began as any of countless others.  Orc raiding parties had been spotted approaching through the plains between Nevrast and the Kingdom of Doriath, moving to the southwest.  They looked as if they were heading for the coastal cities of Brithombar and Eglarest, but simple raiding parties could hope to take the strongholds of Cirdan.  It made Taurensil curious.  Maybe they were trying an encirclement of all Nevrast.  He had to see for himself their intentions.

Not wanting to risk discovery, Taurensil took only one other with him, a trusted tracker, and friend, named Celedan.  Together the two Sindar trailed several raiding parties, detailing their movements and attempting to determine their ultimate destination.  Following one particular party, Taurensil and Celedan met with a discovery that neither had anticipated.

These were no ordinary raids; these were the scouting and foraging parties for a massive army.  Clearing the crest of a hill, the Sindar felt their hearts sink. What seemed like a sea of countless, snarling orcs were headed southern coast.  Taurensil's knew their target.  An army of this size was not meant for his Nevrast, but for Cirdan's havens of Brithombar and Eglarest.

Taurensil's shock at the immensity of such an orc host nearly cost him his own head.  Two orcs, scouting the flanks of this column had spied the Sindar and had tried to surprise them.  One had managed to come within striking distance of Taurensil when Celedan gave a short warning.  Instinctively, Taurensil rolled out of the way of the orc's downward cut and drew his own blade.  Before the orc could pull his blade out of the soft mud, Taurensil's blade found his soft belly.  With a pathetic whimper, the foul creature slumped to the ground.  Taurensil quickly got to his feet, ready to fight the second orc, but it fell without a sound to the ground, Celedan's arrow sticking out from between its shoulder blades.

Celedan warned Taurensil that he should try to be more careful in the future.
Now, there was a decision to make.  The easiest would be to retreat back into Nevrast and let Cirdan worry about the orcs.  But this was not in Taurensil's nature.  Somehow he must reach Cirdan and warn him before this army arrived.  Celedan agreed.

Knowing that the two of them could move much faster than such a massive army, the Sindar scouts figured they could reach Cirdan three to five days before the orcs.  But this may not be enough time to adequately prepare the cities.  Taurensil decided to use an old trick.  Orcs hated water.  Taurensil would make his way to the River Nenning that ran near Eglarest.  He could gain valuable time as the orcs circled around the head of the river.

Quietly the two Sindar made their way to the river bank and turned south.  Time was of the utmost importance so no effort was spared to gain time.  For nearly two days, Taurensil and Celedan ran south, only stopping every few miles to catch their breath.  On the third day, they caught a break.  An abandoned fishing boat had been hidden away among the reeds.  Ulmo must have known the importance of their mission, for the southerly current was swift and strong, carrying them faster than they could have hoped.

One question that kept nagging at Taurensil was the objective of that army.  While it was immense and could besiege either of the two cities effectively, to try to take both would have been a nearly impossible task.  Which city was their target?  Surely they would not attempt to take just one.  Even orc commanders are not that stupid.  That would mean dividing the force.  One division, the larger, would assault one city, while the second, smaller one would act as a blocking force to any relief column from the other city.  The orcs could succeed, but to Taurensil, it was highly improbable.  Then, on the fifth day of their journey, Taurensil got his answer.  There was another army in front of him.

At first, he thought it was the same one that he had seen a week earlier.  But that was impossible.  No army that size could travel that fast.  He knew that all of the time he had managed to make up had been for naught.  The only advantage that he had now was the fact that this second army was still on the western shore of the river.  He had two or three days travel before the entire army would be across.  With another two to three days travel, he had, at best, a week to warn Cirdan of the attack.  That might be enough time.  With even more haste than before, Taurensil and Celedan made for Eglarest at a break-neck pace.