Blue swords|| Legolas

28

The orcs spilled through the streets of Dale in waves. The maze like cobbles and ruins slowing them down slightly but not for long. Luin was glad that he had gotten most of the people off the streets. The hall where he had set up the shield was towards the back of the town, luckily away from where the orcs and trolls had broken through the wall. Luin sprinted down to the old market, trying to ignore the slow draining feeling of the shield sapping his strength. Setting up the shield and making a link between him and his guqin so that he could keep feeding it a constant stream of power was taxing. Luin could feel the fatigue building.

But he was not weak and he refused to let this hinder him. A orc came around the corner of a crumbled building, it shrieked as it saw Luin, raising a large black cleaver as it charged. Luin twirled around it's swing and slashed both his swords across it's neck. The head dropped to the floor as the body spasmed. Luin ignored it and continued running towards the market. There was more open ground there. Fighting in a cramped street caged them in and left them at a serious disadvantage. He knew that.

Luin sliced his way through any orc or creature to come his way. Blades flashing and blue coat billowing as he danced. He did not know how long it took him to get to the market place, or how many he had killed to reach there. All he kept track of was the movement of his swords as he glided through his enemies with a deadly grace. The blades were extensions of his arms and his martial arts allowed him to move swiftly and preserve his energy.

When he finally arrived at the market square, Bard and his men were battling fiercely. Luin jumped and spun over a small troll, blade piercing the junction between the collar bone and down through the rib cage to pierce the heart. It fell with a spray of black blood.

"Luin!" Bard called as he stabbed a orc in the eye. "Are my children safe?"

"I've placed a shield around the hall", Luin shouted back, ducking under the swing of a Morningstar. The spiky ball buried itself in cobbles as Luin twirled under the chain and sliced open the goblin's neck. Black blood sprayed everywhere. It splattered his blue robes in a gory spray. "Take you men and defend it. It will not last forever".

"Regroup at the hall!" Bard ordered loudly. "Defend the hall!" The men began hurrying back from the gate. They sprinted off through the streets pursued by orcs. Bard crossed quickly over to Luin, slashing his way through any orc that tried to stop him.

A bellowing roar made both Bard and Luin turn their gazes towards the gates. A massive troll, three times the size of the one Luin had just killed, stood in the rumble. It swung a club half Luin's size at a building, demolishing it. The structure fell like building blocks as the troll snarled.

"Do you want this one?" Bard grunted. He eyed the beast warily.

"I can take this", Luin grinned sharply. "You go and protect your children". Bard looked at the massive troll again. He gave Luin a 'are you sure look'. Luin grinned wider, bloodlust and anger in his smile. Bard nodded and turned, running after his men in the direction of the hall.

Luin looked up at the troll, readjusting the grip on his swords. "Come on then!" He gave a loud war cry as he charged.

The troll swung it's club. Luin caught the impact on his swords, the force sending him flying back. Luin held out his arms as he stopped and regained his balance. Taking the opportunity, the troll came lumbering forward to strike again. Luin flew to the side as the club broke the ground where he was just standing. The troll grunted in dissatisfaction at it's miss. Luin sliced at it's leg, carving two deep lines into the thick skin. Blood dripped off of his blades. The troll gave a cry as it staggered back. The wound on Luin's side gave a pulse of pain at the extreme movements. He grimaced and ignored it.

The troll fell back and Luin was there jumping on top of it's chest. He plunged his two swords into it's chest until it became still. Straightening, Luin brushed his hair out of his face with his arm. It was undone and tangled. Blood dripped off it and he knew that his face was coated with grime and sweat. Screams came from the gates and Luin turned to watch as Thranduil game galloping through the main gate on his elk. The poor creature was pierced in the side by a spear and doubled over. Thranduil jumped from its back in a blur of silver and gold, twin hunting blades flashing as he took down the orc surrounding him. Following his entrance came a group of elf soldiers along with Gandalf and Bilbo.

Luin sagged momentarily with relief. He couldn't have held the town by himself. Reinforcements were a welcome sight. He was glad to see the small hobbit. Bilbo was sweaty and equally as grimy as the rest of them but alive and well. Gandalf gave Luin a nod as he struck a orc in the head with his staff. Luin readied his swords and jumped back into the fray. Time flew past in a mess of slashing swords and black blood.

At one point he found himself fighting side by side with Thranduil. The orcs seemingly never ending. Each ten killed had twenty more come bursting through the gates. The elf king was a blur of precise silver as he took the orcs apart. Luin flew and spun around him, acrobatic movements allowing for Thranduil to surprise the orcs and strike with efficient kills. The both of them working seamlessly in the face of death. Both their pairs of blades danced with blood. Luin's smaller frame allowing him to flip and duck around the elf king. The orcs kept a circle around them as the two of them skew their enemies with fearsome speed.

"You fight well", Thranduil commented as Luin skidded under his arm on his knees to behead the orc behind him. "Truly worthy of my son. I must say that I'm impressed".

"You are not unskilled yourself", Luin joked. A orc squeaked as his blades carved it's chest open. It collapsed with a sickening squelching thump.

Thranduil snorted, a slight smile tugging at his lips, much to Luin's surprise. The king stabbed two orc simultaneously. "You may joke wizard", he shot back. "I'm glad that my son has someone to teach him the things I didn't".

Luin kicked a orc in the face and chopped it's arm off as he somersaulted. He didn't know how to take the king's words, too busy dealing with the battle to fully absorb what had just been said. "If I didn't know better", he remarked with a light tone, despite his panting breaths and the dead orcs at their feet. "I would say that you almost consider me a friend lord Thranduil".

Thranduil gave a sharp bark of laughter. "You may be right blue wizard. It has been a long time since I have considered someone who is not my kin a friend. If my son was going to pursue a non-elf, I'm glad it's you". The honesty surprised Luin. It warmed him to know that the king held him so highly. It was true, that people were always more honest when staring death in the face.

For all the jest and light hearted conversation, the orcs were not letting up. More and more men and elves fell under the black blades. They were slowing and slowly becoming overwhelmed. Luin had not idea how the dwarves were doing down before the mountain but he had a feeling that it was not much better. He could feel pulses on the shield from where orcs tried to break in. It was still holding strong but the pulses were becoming more and more frequent as more weapons pounded against the shield. He couldn't hold the flow of Qi forever.

A deep note of a horn broke over the valley. It echoed around the mountains and the city. Luin raised his head at the noise. Somewhere across the square, Bilbo's voice was heard. The hobbit somewhere unseen. "The dwarves are rallying. Thorin is there!" Luin felt more strength fill his veins. He redoubled his efforts. Around him, the elves and Bard's men did the same. Slowly but surely the orcs were being pushed back. Their numbers thinning out as more and more fell under shining blades.

"Hail to the king!" The shout echoed up from the battle at the mountain below. Luin gave and answering war cry and charged.

AN: If you want an idea of Luin's fighting style then there is a clip above. It's very dance, martial arts based. Very pretty and acrobatic. I think this fits well with both Thranduil's and Legolas' own fighting styles.
Thranduil and Luin are officially friends. Yay.