The End of an Army
This document can be found within the library of Bree, it tells of th end of Eriador Army and the founding of the Defenders of the Free Peoples.
"It started shorty after the Battle for Tinnudir Bridge," he went on record as stating. "A few of the Army gathered and made ready to hold back a storm of Angmarim about to attack. There were about two hundred attackers, and only, maybe, seventy defenders. We fought the most bloodiest battle the Army has ever fought. We killed all that camp onto that bridge; the white stones stained to rust with blood, but we held on, fighting under the banner of the Free Peoples.
"We won the day, the Army's handfull were heavly wounded, myself included. The defenders, the Wardens of Annuminas took us in and cared for us.
"I knew then, that the whole Army had to be moved into Evendim and halt this storm before it engulfs all of Eriador.'
"We had five thousand soliders waiting for Battle. All of them Elves, Men, Dwarfs, and even a few Hobbits. We had never before fielded such an Army and we were planning to use it on the Enemys heart; Annuminas."
The Legate then went on to say that his own son had been captured by the enemy and taken as hostage to the centre of the city. With that in their minds, the soldiers had no intent of backing down, instead more determined than ever to win the day and restore a missing son to his father. Even Isilorbors daughter and niece wished to join the fighting on this occasion, not willing sit by whilst a member of their family was in danger.
"Out of the five thousand, fifty were chosen to be the first to enter the city," he continued with a tear in his eye. "We landed on the docks and met little to stop us. We ran to the gates and opened the second level for the Army. They poured into the city, and the battle began.
"The Angmarin guarding the front gates were overwhelmed and retreated back deeper into the city, when a full attack in the streets began. The streets ran red with blood, each side paid heavily for each squad foot taken or lost.'
"We took the first level, we lost many - far too many. When we entered the second level, they moved Trolls to stop us. Angmarin Crossbowmen stood above the houses and rained death on us, but we kepted pushing forward, clearing one house at a time, street by street.
Then... we were doomed. We all heard a single scream at the city's tower...."
The scream came from Gilendil Ventris, Isilorbors captured son.
Upon hearing the childs scream, the resolve of the Eriador Army at first faltered and then failed. What had until then been a battle descended into outright slaughter as the enemy took advantage of the loss of morale amongst their opponents. The Eriador Army scattered and fled in the resulting bloodbath, but their woes did not end there.
Legate Ventris returned to their headquarters to discover that the enemy had gotten there before him. The buildings had been looted, burnt and cast down - the once mighty structures turned to blackened rubble. A wounded elf, Halpendor Goldenleaf, who had been recovering in the headquarters during the time of battle is assumed to have met his end in the destruction of the headquarters, although they have been unable to locate a corpse to confirm this grizzly suspicion.
Now, the Legate tells us, he and those few of his men that he could locate are travelling to Rivendell to recover and reform as the Defenders of the Free Peoples. He asks that all those members of the Eriador Army who still survive travel to the Vale of Imladris and once again pledge their lives to the protection of the lands.
