Chapter Twenty-Four: Down the River

The Great River Anduin, a wide river that originates in the Grey Mountains to the north and flows into the sea at Belfalas Bay in Gondor. On the vast road, countless mountain streams and rivers converge in it, which makes this river more and more turbulent and surging.

Zhao Mian and the others went down the river. They said goodbye to the elves in Lorian, and King Celepon and Queen Galadriel held a send-off lunch for them on the beach of the Delta—countless sumptuous food was laid out on the beach, and delicious mead was dotted with it, and all the attendees, except for Zhao Mian and Frodo, ate a lot.

For some reason, Empress Galadriel, who seemed to have become a little different, gave everyone on the expedition a gift - she gave Aragon a scabbard with gold and silver inlaid with leaves and flowers, and with many gem-inlaid elven characters on it, writing the name of the holy sword Anduriel and its origin. "The weapon drawn from this scabbard, even if defeated, will not break or deface," she said, "but there are many dangers and darkness in the future, and what else do you want before you leave? ”

But more than that, Aragorn received a gift from the elf he had been dreaming of—a brooch on which the diamonds shone softly in the sunlight. This was a great surprise to Aragorn, and the specific way it was expressed was that after many days of darkness, his face finally showed a smile again—and this was the first time he had seen his smile since Zhao Mian met them again.

"I thank you for the gift you have given me. He said, "Empress Rorian, you have given birth to Celebrian and Arwen Twilight, and this is the greatest gift you have brought to the world!"

The Empress nodded slightly, turned to face Boromo, and gave him a golden belt. Pippin and Merry each received a silver belt, and the buckle part was made of gold flowers. She gave Legolas the longbow of the treants, far stronger and more slender than the bow of the Dark Forest, with a string made of elven hair, and a bag of finely crafted arrows. What she gave Sam was a box of dirt from the elves' homeland that would ensure the fertility of his homeland. And the golden bolt, the lovely dwarf, he wanted nothing more, but his spirit earned him another gift. The Empress gave him three long hairs of her own—those hairs as beautiful as the stars that had fallen into the mortal world, and shimmered wonderfully, just as the golden bolt carefully held in the palm of her hand was not three insignificant hairs, but three brilliant diamonds.

Then, she turned her head and looked at Zhao Mian, "So, what does this Lady of Light want?"

"I don't want anything, Ms. Galadriel. Zhao Mian looked around, many elves nodded to him friendly, he looked at his teammates again, everyone was not tired of the journey - as if they had just set off from home, all the members of the expedition team were full of energy, their eyes were full of hope, Zhao Mian looked back at Galadriel, and bent down slightly, "No, it's not that I don't want gifts, Ms. Galadriel." Rather, you have already given me the gift I need most. He said, "You have allowed us to recuperate here, in the darkest hour of this world, so that we can find a place of peace in the dark clouds, and you have made all those standing here smile - this is the most beautiful gift to me." Nothing could compare to what these things meant to me, they were like a ray of sunlight in the darkest of times - not strong enough, but enough to give hope to everyone who saw her. ”

Everyone was silent, and they looked at Zhao Mian - this man was dressed in battle armor, holding a beautiful wine glass in his hand, on top of the heavy battle armor, his face exposed by eating and drinking had traces of time on it, and on that armor, countless wounds told the man's past like war exploits - it must be a warrior born in a hundred battles. He stood straight on the not-so-wide riverbank, with a hammer of war cast like a flame behind him, and a heavy book hung silently at his waist—from which flowed soothing power.

"O elves, this man is like the great humans we have seen in the past—they are equally wise, warlike, and persevering. Galadriel's voice grew so loud at this moment that her voice resounded throughout Carrasgalaton—but surprisingly not deafening. She raised her head high, and her swan-like neck was exposed to everyone, showing her beauty, "For a long time, we have forgotten the same honor and glory of mankind in the past, and in that dark age, it was also a man like him who allied with us and gained the right to live in this world—but the long widowhood has made us all forget the glory of other races in this world, and now, it is time to remember!" She turned her head to look at Zhao Mian, and her voice changed back to its original tone, "But I can't let you leave here empty-handed, Lady of Light." I can't let you be the only one in your team without a gift. Say it - even if it's a small wish, or a big wish, I can do my best. ”

"Then give me the jug of wine in front of you. Zhao Mian said, looking at Galadriel and smiling, "Wandering in the wilderness all year round, wine and weapons are my best companions - and now my armor is still hard, my weapons are still strong, and I don't need to change them." So, give me that pot of mead—one of the few good wines I've ever drunk during the long journey. ”

The queen waved her hand, and an elven maid stepped up from the side, and poured the pot on a tray that had just filled two full cups, and now nearly half of it was still left, carved from a beautiful material almost like jade, and the jug with gold and agate on it was brought to Zhao Mian.

Zhao Mian nodded in gratitude, he brought the jug of wine in front of him, then took out a military kettle made of steel from his space bag, poured the wine into it, and then he placed the beautiful jug in front of him - next to the plate he had just finished eating.

After Frodo had received the queen's gift, the men of the expedition set out on the journey they were supposed to continue - the vast Anduin River would carry their boats to the area of Lanos, where Zhao Mian intended to land and embark on the last stretch of the road to Idoras, where they would reach Idoras safely under the guard of the Knight of Rohan. And now......

The Anduin River was rough, and the four small boats were like duckweed in the water, moving forward in this unsheltered place.