Attacks on Lothlorien

     Only Varda's stars far above lit the Golden Wood and all was silent.  Too silent.  The creatures of the night knew of the evil intruders, as did the watchful elves.
     Gurthdín walked as only elves can along the boughs of the great trees, keeping a watchful eye on the enemy below.  The foul, dark-skinned orcs marched deeper into the enchanted wood, their iron-shod feet trampling the lush grass and the fair elanor, all the while heedless of their own peril.
     It was all Gurthdín could do to hold himself for the signal to attack, so eager was he to rid the forest of the dark creatures of evil.  Faintly, from the other side of the marching orcs he heard the hoot of an owl, the signal for the attack.
     At once the singing of many long, elven bows broke the silence and for every arrow loosed there was an orc screaming in pain.  Before his third arrow struck its target, Gurthdín was on the ground, his shining blade in hand.  He leapt into battle, meting out death to any orc that came within the reach of his long sword.  The orcs, taken by surprise, were in disarray and none could outmatch the swordsmanship nor the strength of the elves defending their homeland.
     As quickly as the elves attacked they were gone, leaving behind less than half as many orcs as there were before and losing only three of their own to the wild slashes of the surprised orcs.
     Many of the orcs fled, away from the forest and south, towards The Wold, but some remained and fled deeper into The Golden Wood.  The elves kept up with the fleeing orcs, running through the trees and firing down upon the orcs that slowed or split off from the main group.  Many orcs were lost in well-hidden pits, as they ran along paths made for that very purpose.  The largest of the groups ran on in fear and then came to a small clearing...where the elves waited for their arrival.  Before the orcs in the rear of the group even saw the clearing the foremost orcs were dead, impaled upon bright spears held by skilled hands.  The rest soon followed, being attacked both from the front by the spearmen and from behind by Gurthdín and his elven rangers. Soon all of the remaining orcs in The Golden Wood were destroyed and Lorien was, for the time being, at peace.

The Second Attack on Lothlorien

     Even as Frodo and Sam escaped from the tower of Cirith Ungol, and Théoden king fell and Denethor put himself to death, so too did evil enter Lorien once more.  A multitude of orcs, some upon great wolves, came from the north, none of them caring whether they were seen or not.  Though it was day, the clouds of Mordor blocked out the sun and the orcs marched fearlessly towards the Golden Wood.  There were two groups of orcs; one group was mounted upon fearsome wolves and was led by one massive wolf without a rider.  The other, larger group of orcs marched along side and bore the usual orcish tools, a curved blade at their side and a wicked spear in hand. They came quickly on, on towards the forest and the waiting elves.  As soon as the orcs were within bowshot, the unseen guardians of the forest let loose a volley of arrows that struck down many orcs but the rest continued on.  Volley after volley was fired into the orcish host and the fields north of the Golden Wood were littered with the dead and dying orcs and wolves.  As the orcs marched closer the arrows in the air began to burst into bright green flames as they fell towards their targets.  Now the elves rained magic fire upon the enemy marching towards their homeland.  Many wolves, infused with a fear of fire, fled, some along with their riders.  Still the enemy continued on and, as the orcs reached the eaves of the wood, the remaining wolf-riders began their charge with the orcs on foot followed close behind.
     Without warning, the elves were upon the enemy that threatened their home.  They emerged from the shadows, almost entirely unseen because of their forest cloaks.  The elves engaged their foes upon the wolves, thrusting and stabbing with long, bright-bladed spears.  Some of the wolves, caught off guard by the sudden emergence of the elves, dropped their riders and bolted out of the forest and away from the battle they feared they would lose.  The orcs thrown from their wolves were dead before they could get up.
    Gurthdín, again leading his rangers, attacked his opposite amongst the enemy, the great wolf-chieftain.  He ran at the huge wolf, his sword glittering in anticipation of enemy blood.  The two combatants fought a mighty battle, Gurthdín lashing out with his leaf-shaped blade, the wolf trying to seize the elven champion in his long fangs or slash with his razor sharp claws.  They fought on, the battle continuing around them, each using every ounce of strength and endurance he possessed.  Time passed and both of them were covered in hundreds of tiny cuts and both bled freely.  Then, suddenly, the wolf leapt at Gurthdín and the elf too slowly brought up his blade.  The wolf struck the elf down and held him to the ground, his great jaws crushing Gurthdín's left arm just below the shoulder.
     Gurthdín, seeing the blood pulse from between the great wolf's jaws had a last surge of energy.
    “Elbereth!,” he called as, with one fluid movement, he sliced off the wolf's muzzle and threw the beast off of him.  He jumped up and before the wolf could get to his feet, Gurthdín thrust his sword through the wolf's throat and into the ground.  Upon seeing the end to this glorious battle between the champions, the remaining wolves and their riders upon them turned and fled the forest, not waiting for the orcs on foot, still marching towards the forest, to arrive.
     It was not long before Gurthdín, lying upon the ground in a puddle of his own blood could hear, or feel, the orcs on foot approaching.  They marched into the forest unchallenged, and believed themselves victorious.  Unbeknownst to them, there was no reason for the elves to challenge them, for they were no longer marching in the direction that they intended.  As with the ancient land of Doriath, Galadriel, The Lady of the Wood, had surrounded her land with a fence of shadow and bewilderment.  The orcs marched on and, though they were sure they had marched clear through the whole wood, in truth had only marched along the edge all around Lorien and out the other side.  Thinking that all of the elves must be dead or gone they marched south in victory.  After some time of marching, they made camp on the edge of the Wold, on the very spot where the ents had destroyed the survivors of the first assault only a day earlier.