The tale told to our reporter by an old hunter was so fantastical that we thought to transcribe his words exactly:
"What I am about to share with you, is something I have not shared with any one else. For my heart is filled with shame and sadness. Not too long ago, I was out hunting with my brother. We went south in hope of finding prey. As we wandered our eyes fell upon a large bird in the sky, much larger then the common birds of prey in the north. We stopped and watched it for a brief moment, it came flying from the south and as it passed us we threw ourselves underneath the foliage of a nearby bush for what we saw filled our hearts with fear. It was a great eagle see, a great black eagle and its cry sent cold chills down my spine.
"After the eagle had passed us we ran into some trouble. For the ground seem to shake and the sound of thousands of marching feet came from the southern trail. My brother ran ahead and just as he turned to tell me what it was he had seen he was pierced by many a crossbow bolt. I screamed and ran towards him, dropping my hunting gear in the moment. When I reached the top of the small hill my heart almost stopped for my eyes fell upon a great host of warriors and beasts. I quickly bowed down at my brothers side and said a short prayer before I begun to run back to the village. The cries of the great eagle constantly reminding me of the marching host.
"I ran and how I ran. The forest behind me seemed to come alive and soon I heard howling of great wargs and other terrifying beasts. As I came to my village I yelled and tried to warn everyone. The black tide has come, I yelled and all who could wield a weapon gathered at the palisades. They looked to my to lead them, to tell them what I had encountered. I knew time was of the essence so I kept it brief, I should have told everyone to run for the hills instead, I should have told them to run.
"They fell upon us as waves upon the shore, first the beasts attacked, but they were easily beaten back. But then the great warriors came, disciplined and fully armoured. Their crossbows fell every man and woman foolish enough to stay on the ramparts. But the great warriors did not attack, they seemed to wait. Then the great cry of the black eagle echoed in the snow cowered valley and the great bird landed in front of the dark army. I could not believe my eyes, the great eagle vanished in a cloud of black mist and as the wind cleared the mist, a young lady had taken its place. All fell silent and the very air seemed to shimmer with some strange power as she slowly walked towards the closed gate.
"She was beautiful, her raven hair flowing in the wind and the clothes were coloured blood red. For every step closer she took we could feel our courage fail us. Just out of range from our spears did she stop. The elders whispered to the young a name, the dark maiden, yes. The Dark Maiden. I could not take my eyes off her and I dropped my spear, several of us laid down our weapons and admired her beauty. But what flowed was terrible, she raised her arms gestured towards the walls and at the same time her voice filled the air. The ground shook and dark clouds gathered over us in the sky. Soon the day had turned into night and with one last gesture from the young lady, the entire wall and gate in front of us fell to the ground. Lighting played amongst the clouds and as the lady laughed her army threw themselves at us, with steel and fangs they slayed every man, woman and child. I myself took a blow to the head and was knocked out, When I came through the entire village were burning and around me I could hear the invaders talking.
"There I was, drifting in and out of consciousness ad around me were many warriors. Standing around me in a circle they yelled and whispered amongst themselves but suddenly some of them parted before and they all fell silent. I could hear a woman's voice:
"Why did you tell me everyone was slain when this, still breathes!" she said.
"The warriors around her did not answer and had it not been for the raging fires around us there would have been a complete silence.I could hear her stepping towards me as I lay on the cold and bloody ground. She kicked me in the guts when she got close enough, I squirmed in pain and looked up at her. It was the same woman from the gates and she smiled and nodded at two of her warriors. They grabbed me by my arms and lifted me so my face was levelled with hers. The light of morning slowly begun to sneak up over the mountains and as the first light struck the village the young woman caressed my face, leaning forward she whispered: "Life has been kind to you but I am as powerful as time..."
"I tried to scream but her beauty had me under some spell, I could then feel how my face begun to age and my once blonde hair slowly turned grey. When she was done the once proud youth that had been me, had turned into a beaten and weak old man. Her warriors threw me on the ground and the woman laughed at me. She then ordered her warriors to strap me to a horse and send me south.
"He has a message to spread to the defenders of the southern lands", she said with a smile and turned towards the rest of her army.
"I did not hear anything more for the last I saw was the heel of one of her warriors boots and then all turned black. How I ended up here I do not know, luck perhaps or possibly even by some darker rout.
"Yes, I were once young and strong, but the Dark Maiden took all that from me in an instant. I do not know how many that has fallen in the snowy north. But day by day I can see refugees arriving, mostly women and children. They all speak of a great host and a beautiful but powerful young woman. Fear and darkness is all that north holds now, but they say that the Dark Maiden does not stay in one place for long. She has even been rumoured to have been seen inside these city walls."
A tale of such high fantasy that we begin to wonder if the man telling it is entirely sane. A magically transforming woman with the ability to call lightning from the skies and take a mans youth with a mere touch of her hand? That would be an act of the Valar and not the work of a worldly force and, insofar as we are aware, the Valar have yet to take a direct hand in any event of Middle Earth since the sinking of Numenor.
Elves questioned as to the validity of these claims have flatly denied any knowledge of vengeful deities, which makes a change from their usual vague responses to even simple questions such as "would you like a drink?"
However, just to be on the safe side, we urge all readers to be on the look-out for, and report any sightings of, beautiful dark-haired women who turn into a breed of Great Eagle that has, as yet, never before been seen in these lands.
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