Chapter 266: The Round Table Conference (First Update)
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George walked through the streets of the Elven city, and every elf he encountered would stop in their tracks and bow to him.
The elves currently residing in the city were either those who had fought in the Battle of the Canyon or those who had defended the city during the siege. They had all personally witnessed George's contributions to the war and understood that without him, they might not have survived.
Deep down, they were immensely grateful to and respectful of George.
In this era, he was the only human who could command such an automatic display of reverence from the elves.
Even among the elves themselves, only a prince received such treatment.
After walking for a while, he arrived at the Council Hall of the Elven city. Earlier, while refining the Dragon Crystal, an elf had come to inform him that the three princes had requested his presence for a discussion.
"Apologies for being late."
As George entered the hall, he scanned the room and saw that, in addition to the three princes, Bregolas, and Barahir, there was another elf whom he didn't recognize.
This elf was taller than the three princes, and George could sense that the energy within him might surpass that of the three princes combined.
"You're not late. We haven't started yet.
George, let me introduce you—this is my cousin, Fingon."
The eldest prince, Finrod, introduced him.
"The valiant Fingon, the next High King of the Elves."
George immediately understood who the elf before him was. This was a figure of great renown in elven history.
Years ago, when Fëanor's family burned the ships and abandoned his two brothers' factions, they led their people to seek revenge against Morgoth but were ultimately slain. His eldest son, Maedhros, then inherited the title of High King of the Noldor.
However, not long after, Maedhros was deceived by Morgoth's false promise to exchange a Silmaril and was captured. He was hung from the cliffs of Thangorodrim and tortured for thirty years under the sun.
His six younger brothers, fearing Morgoth's strength, dared not attempt a rescue.
Meanwhile, the elves under Fingolfin and Finrod, still bitter over Fëanor's betrayal during the burning of the ships, were unwilling to intervene.
Yet, Fingon, the eldest son of Fingolfin, had been close friends with Maedhros since their time in Valinor. Defying all danger, he ventured alone into Angband and rescued Maedhros.
In gratitude for Fingon's bravery, Maedhros—despite opposition from his six brothers—yielded the title of High King of the Noldor to Fingon's father, Fingolfin.
After Fingolfin later perished in single combat against Morgoth, Fingon inherited the title of High King.
As High King, he united the elves and humans to repeatedly repel Morgoth's armies. In the end, however, he was besieged by the Balrog King, who led a horde of Balrogs and Orcs against him. Exhausted from battle, Fingon ultimately perished.
"This is Elwin George, the one I just mentioned. If not for his help, our branch of the elves might have been reduced to only Galadriel."
After introducing Fingon, Finrod then turned to introduce George, his voice filled with gratitude.
Fingon looked at George with admiration and deep appreciation in his eyes.
"George, thank you for aiding the Noldor elves. We will never forget this debt."
Years ago, when their uncle Fëanor burned the ships, Fingon's father, Fingolfin, had led them and their cousins across the deadly ice fields of the far northwest, enduring unimaginable hardships before finally reaching Middle-earth.
This shared struggle had forged an especially close bond between their two factions, making them as close as true siblings.
After all, they shared the same grandfather and grandmother, while Fëanor's lineage only shared the same grandfather—his mother had died shortly after his birth.
By saving Finrod's faction, George had essentially saved Fingon's own brothers. Moreover, he had helped secure the central front, preventing Morgoth's army from launching a pincer attack on the western forces.
This was a great favor to the entire elven race.
As always, George remained humble in his response, deflecting their gratitude without immediately leveraging his deeds to demand elven magic.
He already had a better plan in mind.
After a brief exchange of formalities, everyone took their seats at the round table and began discussing the upcoming situation.
George, however, remained mostly silent, simply listening. He was no military strategist—his advantage in past battles came solely from his knowledge of historical events, which had helped the elves gain the upper hand.
Now, due to his intervention, the entire course of history had changed. His prior knowledge and experience were no longer reliable.
After approximately two hours of discussion, they finally reached a general conclusion.
First, they decided against mobilizing their forces to reinforce the eastern front.
The eastern defenses had completely collapsed. Morgoth's army had already advanced into the central lands of Middle-earth, forcing the six princes to retreat south, while the eldest prince could only fall back to defend his fortress. Even if they concentrated their forces there, it would be of no use.
Had the defenses not crumbled, they could have gone to reinforce the area, repelling the enemy and allowing Fëanor's seven sons to continue holding the line. However, at this point, any attempt to defend the east would only result in their forces being caught between the dark armies of Angband and Middle-earth.
More critically, if they deployed troops to the east, Morgoth could take advantage of their absence and launch another large-scale assault on the central and western regions, making the situation even worse.
Second, they planned to reinforce the defenses of the central and western fronts to prevent Morgoth from launching a second invasion.
Finrod would return to rally all the elves and have them gather in the cities of his second and third brothers to strengthen their defenses. Bregolas and Barahir also intended to search for the scattered human tribes and bring them to live in the elven city.
At the beginning of the First Age, humans had first appeared in the far eastern lands of Middle-earth. Among them, three major tribes chose to migrate westward in search of new lands. The House of Bëor was only one of these three.
The other two were the Haladin and the House of Marach, both of which had significantly larger populations than the Bëorians.
Although the three tribes had settled in different regions, they maintained close contact.
With their combined strength, the central front would have enough manpower to establish a solid defensive line. Even if Morgoth gathered the remnants of his forces from both the west and central regions for an attack, they would be able to hold their ground.
As for the canyon, Fingon planned to visit his younger brother Turgon, who had established the hidden kingdom of Gondolin near the gorge, and request that Gondolin send an army of elves to defend it.
Turgon had always been fond of traveling. During one such journey along the River Sirion, he had received a vision from Ulmo, the Lord of Waters, in his dreams. Following the vision's guidance, he founded the secret kingdom of Gondolin in a well-hidden valley.
Whether due to Ulmo's blessing or some other fortune, Gondolin had flourished in just a few hundred years, growing to a population comparable to that of their father Fingolfin's kingdom.
With Gondolin's army stationed at the gorge, they would have more than enough strength to defend it.
As for the western front, it was protected by the formidable forces of Fingolfin, making it the safest region.
Lastly, regarding the rampaging army led by the Balrog King deep within Middle-earth, Finrod stated that he would personally travel to the kingdom of the Grey Elves to seek the aid of King Thingol in eliminating them.
And why would Thingol agree to Finrod's request?
Because their lineage was actually connected by blood.
(End of Chapter)