Gray Shadows, by Starlight

[starli-ght.livejournal.com]

B2MeM Challenge: day 2, 072: March 3019: The Ride of the Dead
Format: Drabble
Genre:
Rating: General
Warnings: None
Characters: OCs from Rohan
Pairings: None
Summary: Some things are better left unsaid.

In later years, when the Great War of the West became fireside-talk and those who fought in it a dwindling breed, Elfwine-King commanded its songs be written-- unusual request, but not as the silence on the Ride of the Dead from Dunharrow's maker.

"He would never speak of it," the man's son said, but agreed to finish his father's work.

Well. Hard it is to speak truly of fear if you knew it not. After much trial, he settled simply for:

"Faint were the mighty; fear took the free-men
Such as has ever stayed in their hearts."

~the end

Comments

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

Hello Starlight, I'm your stamper for this event. Can I ask you to please leave a comment on the Numbers post in the future, too? I caught your story post because it was at the top of the page just now, but with all the stories that are getting posted to this community, it's really easy to miss something, whereas we stampers check the Numbers post regularly so everything on there is (hopefully!) noted. You can find the Numbers post by following the "current" tag of the community.
No need to make a comment for this piece, as I've noted it down and will add your stamp, but please remember to comment to the Numbers post next time. Otherwise I might overlook your contributions, and that would be a pity!

[starli-ght.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Oloriel, and I apologize for the inconvenience. In a hurry to finish all my prompts, I did not stop to read the instructions more carefully. I'm sorry about that! Thanks for all you do.

[burning-night.livejournal.com]

Interesting idea, that it's too hard to put the fear into words - I know I might feel like that if I had dead people walking past me!

[engarian.livejournal.com]

this was an interesting concept, and very understandable.

- Erulisse (one L)

[grey-wonderer.livejournal.com]

Something just can't be expressed by words alone. Very true. I liked this.

[aliana1.livejournal.com]

This is lovely. Your opening is so Tolkien-esque, and I love the verse at the end. Very Old-English, and true to Rohan. It is indeed hard to describe that kind of intense fear if you've never known it--a gift, of sorts, for the post-war generation. They'll need to be silent in some matters, and you capture that very well.

[hhimring]

I like the idea that he was trying to write an epic and ended up with something like a Rohirric haiku. They are truth-speakers, the men (and women) of Rohan.

[lindahoyland.livejournal.com]

This feels just right for the Rohirrim. I liked it.

[ladyelleth.livejournal.com]

Some things are better left unsaid indeed, and probably all the more terrifying for it. Very insightful writing here, and good work with the bit of verse. I enjoyed this drabble a lot.