The Eye-Patch

The little group could finally see Edoras in the distance when Aragorn says, "It seems we are there."

"Yes, and the city seems to be mourning," says Boromir seeing it as they got closer.

"Do you think Nora and Gandalf reached Isengard by now?" asks Merry who was sitting in front of Boromir.

"They were on foot so they will take some more days not like us who are traveling on horses," says Bran as he really felt annoyed that he needed to deal with an emotional King instead of swinging his club at the enemy.

"We should find an Inn or go directly to meet with Eowyn who Éomer mentioned," says Aragorn as they were almost in Edoras.

"We should find an Inn while I sent people to look for Eowyn," says Bran as they looked at him confused when he suddenly makes one hand seal and ten clones appeared beside him while he says, "Look for her. Once you find her you know what to do."

The clones nod as they turned into small animals that could sneak around Edoras without getting noticed while the group wasn't surprised when Boromir says, "Any other trick in your sleeves?"

"Many but for them to happen I will have to take my eye-patch off," says Bran as they reached the entrance when he says, "But you don't want me to take it off."

"Why do you really have the eye-patch on?" asks Aragorn since Bran gave them almost always a different excuse only one thing in his words stayed the same that it sealed his powers.

"Have you ever heard of Icarus?" asks Bran as he looked at the sky seeing the sun nearby.

The group looked at him confused as he began to laugh while saying, "Of course you haven't. It's a story from my father's world after all."

"Who was Icarus?" asks Pippin as Bran smiled closing his eye.

"Icarus was a boy too overconfident in himself. He was flying high when his father warned him to not fly higher since the sun would burn his wings. But Icarus was too overconfident and flew too near to the sun and his wings caught fire burning them down and killing him in the process as he fell from the sky," says Bran as the group had mixed feeling from hearing that.

"The moral of the story is that you should never fly too high to the sun or you will burn as Icarus did. Or how I interpret it is, If you achieve so much power that your body can't adjust to it making it burn from inside out until only a husk remains," says Bran as they now knew why Bran was wearing an eye-patch.

"But when you were a kid-," says Aragorn as Pippin and Merry wanted to say the same thing too when Bran interrupted them.

"As a kid, I didn't have the power I gained as a teen. I read about an interesting power that would make me the strongest without realizing that I needed to train my body and mind higher before using it. I carelessly tapped into it and my grandfather and great-grandfather had to stop the process but the price was already paid and I opened all Eight Gates in one go," says Bran making the group wait as they wanted to hear more.

"The Eight Gates are barriers hold your chakra starting from here," says Bran pointing at his brain walking down a line with his finger arriving at his chest while saying, "Until ending here. The moment I take off the eye-patch and I am not strong enough my body will just disintegrate after releasing all of my strength."

"Why did you learn such a strong technique?" asks Merry as Bran looked at him and smiled.

"Because they never write the dangers of the technique on the first page but the last. If I had known it would be that dangerous I wouldn't have learned it and learned another technique to fight against the Lonely Demon," says Bran as he sighs.

"You know that we don't know who the Lonely Demon is right," says Boromir as he seemed to have become addicted to the story.

"The Lonely Demon is an Entity close to Eru if we overlook some parts of him since he could split himself in two and still survive. He gave me a test to defeat something he called Alpha and Omega. They were two monsters far stronger than me at that time I was twelve. He also told me that I had to find a solution on my own or the test would be void," says Bran as they reached the inn.

They dismounted and entered when Merry asks, "And?"

"*sighs* In the end, I used the Eight Gates against them destroying them completely making the Lonely Demon my friend and losing almost my body to the Eight Gates. That's the real story I have this eye-patch on. It seals almost everything because I flew too near to the sun and burned myself. The eye-patch is there to save me until the sun can't burn me any longer," says Bran as he looked at his group while ordering with his fingers beer for them.

They sit down and drink when Merry asks, "And that Lonely Demon is really as strong as Eru?"

"I would say stronger since he is the answer to everything in his world. He knows every question and answer but was lonely like his name says. I won't say more since it isn't my place to tell you more," says Bran as he finished his beer in one gulp before saying, "Work is calling quite early and it will be difficult to meet Eowyn."

"And that is?" asks Pippin as Bran looked serious.

"Because she is the adoptive daughter of the King," says Bran as Boromir and Aragorn almost choked on the beer while Merry still hasn't touched it.

"She is the princess then," says Boromir as he knew that Théoden had two adoptive children because they were his sister's children.

"Then the person we met before was the other adoptive child of the King," says Boromir as Bran nods.

"It seems so," says Bran when Aragorn began thinking.

"Shouldn't we just go to the big building and talk to the King?" asks Pippin when Boromir and Bran shake their head.

"Unless you want to lose your head I invite you not to do that. If the King us under a spell the one putting him under said spell could kill us and if the King is really mourning then we could interrupt him making us also lose our heads," says Boromir explaining to the Hobbits why they shouldn't march into the big building when Aragorn opens his eyes.

"No, we should go tomorrow. The others are waiting for us and our reinforcements in Lórein are waiting for our news to enter Rohan so they can support Gondor," says Aragorn as Boromir and Bran looked at him seriously.

"I know that you are betting everything on that a mage is manipulating the King but if you are wrong I will have to get you all out of Rohan so no one dies. I will send you to my sister's side so let's hope you are right," says Bran as he was worried about Merry and Pippin, the Hobbits shouldn't be in Helm's Deep when the battle starts.

"If that is really so then we will have to disappear as you said. But if it's a mage you should be able to deal with him or her right?" asks Aragorn as Bran sighs.

"Of course, I learned from the best after all, and even if he used magic I have never seen before I should be able to decipher his magic with my eye," says Bran as he stretched his hands up and says, "But first let us sleep in a nice bed for today before running into the Palast to confront the King."

"There you are right," says Aragorn as they paid for two rooms since Pippin and Merry could share a bed.

The next morning after breakfast, they left the inn to go to the Palast as the Hobbits were nervous since it was the second time they entered a Palast when Bran smells something in the air.

"What are you smelling?" asks Aragorn as Bran stopped.

"Magic but it is weak as if the user doesn't want to be uncovered. That means that he might only control the King or only give him some advice while influencing his decisions," says Bran as he stopped and continues, "Or he is just weak and can only go this route instead of going the more easiest route of controlling everyone inside the Palast."

"I hope it is the latter one," says Aragorn as Bran smiles.

"And I hope it is a powerful one. It would be too boring if he was weak," says Bran as he was excited.

They were stopped at the entrance as the guard asks, "Who are you?"

"I'm Boromir, son of Denethor II, we are here to meet King Théoden to speak about reinforcements that the Elves want to send to help Rohan in these dark times before they continue marching towards Gondor to help against Mordor," says Boromir as the guards were surprised by what they said.

"Are you sure about what you are saying from yourself," says the guard feeling some hope for Rohan.

"Yes, they are at the border between Lórien and Rohan waiting for my friend here to send them about your decision. If the King denies their passage they will use the river and just pass Rohan without crossing the border," says Boromir as the guards were feeling excited since Rohan wasn't doomed as they thought.

"I will inform my King imme-," says a guard as Bran stopped him.

"No, inform Eowyn. I suspect a wizard by the King's side whispering wrong things into his ears," says Bran as the guards were now on guard again.

"We should inform the princess," says a guard as Bran nods.

"Yes, she might be able to help us to clear his Majesty's head making him find his reason and spirit to fight the enemy again," says Bran explaining why he wanted the princess informed and not the King directly.

"He is right if the King really is under a spell the wizard would send us away by whispering into his ears but if your princess invites us in the wizard won't be able to know of it," says Boromir making the guards nod hearing his logic.

"We will do so right away," says a guard as the others were relaxed again while one of them went to fetch the princess.

"I really hope this will work," says Aragorn as he wasn't the only one worried right now.

"The first hurdle is already passed now we only need to pass the others," says Bran as he hit his head against the door frame and began to curse in a language the others didn't understand.