The forces marched on. Black Speech was muttered amongst the orc forces as they lumbered through the barren fields beyond the Black Gate. Riding atop a Dire Horn Goat, a mounted warrior was fully clad in dark armor. As the goat ascended a steep, rocky hill, a scout dashed beside her, "General Aglarari, we approach Ithilien."
The young commander nodded, cold and spiteful, "Tell the army to halt. Send more scouts to assess to area. If the entire battalion were ambushed by rangers, we would return to Lord Aglarzor as failures."
The orc nodded and lumbered off. As the goat click clacked atop the hill, the young woman sighed, "I hate orcs..."
She adjusted her helm as the goat stopped. Aglarari scoffed. These goats were bizarre steeds, stopping at random times or bucking if they did not like a nearby bush. With the goat dead stopped, Aglarari turned to get a glimpse of what Ithilien was like. Her father had told her that the landscape was unlike anything she had seen before. Towering, imposing trees coated masses of land in a forest larger than any of the ones behind the Black Gate. They had sounded intimidating to her, but what she saw was something completely different.
The trees were... pretty. They were pretty like the old Gondorian stain glass in her father's fortress, except far prettier than that. Why, these trees did not scare her at all! The grasses were green and lush. It reminded her of Nurn, except far more bountiful. And those... plants... what were those? They were tiny things, sprouting from the ground. In so many colors! Blue, purple, red, orange, white! They were just incredible! Unlike anything she had ever seen before.
Her heart stirred inside. She had come to this place for war, yet here she was gawking at the local fauna. She tried telling herself to snap out of it, but she was unable to break away. The little colorful plants, and all the grasses, danced in winds far more pleasant than she could ever recall feeling. The sunlight, a rare thing in Gorgoroth, shone down and bathed the plants and trees in lovely display. This place even smelled good!
She only recognized the tear she shed after it fell. She blinked, more tears fell as she simply gazed upon the glory of the forest down the rocky incline. This was so... so...
"This is... what words could..."
Time passed on. The entire time she could not break away. She did not want to.
Heavy climbing sounds resounded from behind. Thankful that the helmet she wore was hiding her tears, Aglarari reluctantly turned to see another orc scaling the tall rocks.
"General Aglarari, the scout that was sent eastward has been shot down."
It was just an orc, not a big deal. Aglarari had sent singular scouts out so only one pitiful creature would die if ambush was ahead. Aglarari nodded and took the goat's reigns, "Tell the forces to hold back. The enemy knows we are here; now, let us plan for war."
