9. A Commission of Beacons
Fire burns once, and its fuel must be replenished. So the villagers insisted when we commandeered their wood. We sympathized, for we were cold ourselves, wishing we were stationed anywhere but this mountain hamlet with its head in the snows.
When the signal came I found that we were still alert, still soldiers. We climbed the trail at a run, shielded the torch with our bare hands as the wind tore at the flame. I realized that these cruel, clear heights were our allies.
Fire burns once. But that fire leapt from peak to peak, keeping itself alight by burning.
This is a work of fan fiction, written because the author has an abiding love for the works of J R R Tolkien. The characters, settings, places, and languages used in this work are the property of the Tolkien Estate, Tolkien Enterprises, and possibly New Line Cinema, except for certain original characters who belong to the author of the said work. The author will not receive any money or other remuneration for presenting the work on this archive site. The work is the intellectual property of the author, is available solely for the enjoyment of Henneth Annûn Story Archive readers, and may not be copied or redistributed by any means without the explicit written consent of the author.
