Midsummer, 3018 T.A.
It has been several weeks since I crossed through the Gap of Rohan and watched the sun set on the peaks of the White Mountains. The journey along the North-South Road had been surprisingly desolate, and only a poorly organized group of brigands just south of Bree added interest to an otherwise uneventful trip. Many were the falcons of Gondor who had been released into the wilds of Rhovanian and Eriador, spurred on by orders given by our superiors and rumored to have descended from the seat of Denethor II himself.
Our orders were simple, though I am finding the execution thereof to be challenging: see to the success of our Captain-General as he endeavors to retrieve the Hope of Gondor, a weapon that promises to alter the tide of war in our favor. It is said that this weapon, prized and sought also by Mordor, is in the hands of those who fail to realize its potential. While our beloved leader journeys alone to intercept this powerful artifact, we falcons will be the eyes and ears of Gondor.
It all sounds so heroic – Gondor's victory is Middle Earth's salvation. The entirety of the world rests on her shoulders. I dare not consider if those shoulders bear strength enough to endure the wrath and ruin of the Enemy. It is a vision my mind's eye refuses to see. And so, to keep the nightmare from becoming reality, we fly far from home as commanded. We learn. We watch. We listen. We clear the Captain-General's path so that he may return home with victory in hand.
And so, I pander to simpletons in the muddy streets of Combe. I break bread with washer-women in Bree and listen to the gossip of farmer's wives. Despite the mediocrity, there are words of promise. I will remain and persist until fate leads me onward, and not give heed to personal speculations on the wisdom of this ordered quest. Gondor needs every sword and spear, and yet many are we who were commanded to go.
No.
I will not give voice – or ink – to my misgivings. Gondor has not asked that I have an opinion. She has ordered me to act and uphold the oaths I have made, and that I will do until I breathe no more.
"I hereby do swear fealty and service to Gondor and to the Lord and Steward of the Realm: To speak and to be silent. To do and to let be. To come and to go, in need or plenty, in peace or war, in living or dying until my lord release me, death take me or the world end."
