EE PatronMay 9th 2013, 8:42:11
Morgoth hated waiting, though he knew it was the largest part of being a soldier. Waiting for the next battle, for the enemy to move, to make a mistake. He watched the winter forest and was still as the trees. The sun stood halfway to it's peak and still gave no warmth. His breath misted white in front of his face, frosting his neatly trimmed beard. He was glad that his helmet hung at his pommel. His breastplate held the cold and radiated it through his coat and all the layers of wool, silk and linen underneath. Even Quicksilver's saddle felt cold, as thought the white gelding were made of frozen milk. The helmet would have addled his brain.
Winter had come late to Earth 2025, very late, but with a vengeance. From summer heat that lingered unnaturally into fall, to winter's heart in less than a month. The leaves that had survived the long summer's drought had been frozen before they could change color, hanging like strange ice-covered emeralds in the trees, glistening in the morning sun. The horses of the thirty-odd armed men around him occasionally stamped a hoof in the knee-deep snow. It had been a long ride this far, and they had further to go, whether this day turned out good, or ill. Dark Clouds roiled the sky Northward. He didn't need his weather sense to tell him the temperature would plummet by nightfall. They had to be under shelter by then.
"Not as rough as the winter before last, is it, My Lord?" said Gambit. The youthful officer having an almost uncanny knack for reading Morgoth's mind, his voice pitched for the others to hear. "Even so, I suppose some of the men would be dreaming of hot wine or tea about now." Not this lot, of course, they all drank beer. "They might get cold tea sometime tonight, if they're lucky" Morgoth replied dryly. That brought a few chuckles. Quiet chuckles. He had chosen these men with care, and they knew about noise at the wrong time.
He himself could do with a cold brew, or even tea. But it was a long time since he had supped with his old friends at The Citadel, and he would delay the reunion no longer.....
The rest of the story will be at "The Citadel"
Winter had come late to Earth 2025, very late, but with a vengeance. From summer heat that lingered unnaturally into fall, to winter's heart in less than a month. The leaves that had survived the long summer's drought had been frozen before they could change color, hanging like strange ice-covered emeralds in the trees, glistening in the morning sun. The horses of the thirty-odd armed men around him occasionally stamped a hoof in the knee-deep snow. It had been a long ride this far, and they had further to go, whether this day turned out good, or ill. Dark Clouds roiled the sky Northward. He didn't need his weather sense to tell him the temperature would plummet by nightfall. They had to be under shelter by then.
"Not as rough as the winter before last, is it, My Lord?" said Gambit. The youthful officer having an almost uncanny knack for reading Morgoth's mind, his voice pitched for the others to hear. "Even so, I suppose some of the men would be dreaming of hot wine or tea about now." Not this lot, of course, they all drank beer. "They might get cold tea sometime tonight, if they're lucky" Morgoth replied dryly. That brought a few chuckles. Quiet chuckles. He had chosen these men with care, and they knew about noise at the wrong time.
He himself could do with a cold brew, or even tea. But it was a long time since he had supped with his old friends at The Citadel, and he would delay the reunion no longer.....
The rest of the story will be at "The Citadel"
I don't need anger management, people need to stop pissing me off!
