Given that S.D. Smith has confessed to J.R.R. Tolkien being a major influence on him, it doesn't surprise me at all that certain similarities exist between one of the most significant battles in The Lord of the Rings and the final battle of The Green Ember series. Of course, it's hard to do anything in fantasy these days without echoing Tolkien at least a little bit. Still, the Siege of First Warren (as we call it over on the Green Ember Wiki) and the Battle of the Pelennor Fields have some noticeable parallels. It's something it might be fun to ask Sam about someday, to find out whether he was consciously imitating Tolkien's battle or did so unconsciously.

First, there's the setting. First Warren and Minas Tirith have a number of similarities, quite apart from the (presumed) coincidence that both their names consist of two words with the same number of letters. They are both ancient, walled cities with a river (or two) flowing near them, though their locations and layouts are of course different. Minas Tirith was also never occupied by enemy forces and retaken, as was the case with First Warren.

Speaking of enemy forces, the armies of predators who assault First Warren on Morbin's orders are certainly reminiscent of the hosts of Mordor. The fact that the first armies to actually assault each city are led by a legendary king associated with a dreaded northern realm is also interesting. Of course, the Lords of Prey as a whole and the Six in particular also bring the Nazgûl to mind; Morbin certainly has a lot more of the Witch-King's nigh-invincible air to him than Farlock ended up having. Sadly, none of the predator leaders-or any of the predators, so far as we read in Ember's End-met their ends in quite so awesome a way as the Éowyn and Merry tag-team.

As an aside, Tameth Seer gives off some definite Denethor vibes...you know, without any of the bad father aspect. Both are motivated by a desire to return to the way things were earlier in their lives, where they were the guys in charge. They both oppose the rightful heir to the throne, though in Tameth's case its mainly because the rest of Natalia can burn for all he cares so long as Terralain goes back to the way it used to be. Like Denethor, he also conceals a lot of things, like the fact that he's been posing as a faithful advisor to Bleston and his sons while secretly thirsting for their blood. However, Denethor ranks somewhat lower on the awful scale than Tameth because, in spite of his flaws, he never actually sided with Sauron...unless you count giving up and trying to off both himself and his son while the battle was still being fought.

On the good guy side, the Flood of the Silver Stars, as the chapter on the Terralains joining the Cause in battle is called, definitely screams "Charge of the Rohirrim" to me. It also has a tinge of the black ships of Umbar, given that the Terralains initially show up seemingly to attack First Warren only to join in its defense. The honor of actually showing up on ships to join in the battle, of course, goes to the rabbits of Akolan. This group further parallels that event in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields by bringing with them the heir to the throne, carrying with him a legendary blade. As it happens, both Smalls and Aragorn also spent some time inside an incredibly creepy mountain, but Smalls didn't lead any armies out of his.

The Stone Sword of Flint actually acts in a capacity similar to two separate weapons featured in The Return of the King: Andúril and the Barrow-blade wielded by Merry. Like the former, it's a legendary blade wielded by a royal ancestor against an ancient enemy. Like the latter, it serves as a weapon that can injure the greatest enemy in the battle in a means that no other weapon can. Additionally, like Merry's weapon, the Stone Sword is destroyed after being used against said enemy. Don't know about anyone else, but I've always loved the bit where Merry's sword perishes and Tolkien goes into a little side note about its origins.

Having compared some of the larger hero forces taking part in our two battles, we move on to individuals. As stated previously, Smalls is a fitting stand-in for Aragorn. If there's an Éomer in the Siege of First Warren, however, he's not affiliated with Terralain as you might expect: in my mind, he's Picket Longtreader. This seems especially true given that he and Smalls come together for the final showdown with Morbin. It recalls Aragorn's promise of his and Éomer's reunion, "though all the hosts of Morder lay between us".

Of course, Picket's status as Natalia's Éomer is solidified by the fact that there is, in my mind, no question as to who S.D. Smith's Théoden is: Helmer the Black. The best King of Rohan and the #BestLordCaptain both went through periods of despair brought on by personal loss and the actions of vile traitors-Garten Longtreader and Gríma Wormtongue, anybody? Both went back into the fight with great doubts, with all sense telling them that only death awaited them and those they were fated to lead. And yet, both of them charged into their final frays with skill, vigor, and heart befitting "stor[ies] to make us brave." Plus, Helmer's name is often shortened to Helm, which happens to be the name of Théoden's seventh or eighth great-uncle; it's just too perfect.

The citadel lords and Captain Frye, of course, fill a role much akin to the minor lords of Gondor mentioned in the text of The Return of the King. Frye in particular reminds me of Forlong of Lossarnach, as they both perished after putting up a formidable fight in spite of their advanced age and *ahem* waistline. Felson and Ronan, meanwhile, are more like the various Gondorian nobles noted to have perished during the battle with no dialogue-rather like poor Felson. As a final note, the Pilgrim and his band rather remind me of Prince Imrahil and the Swan-knights of Dol Amroth. Oh, and Emma gets Éowyn's penchant for awesome speeches, though unlike Éowyn she didn't get into any actual fighting that we read about.

Well, those are my thoughts on the matter. Couldn't really identify anyone in Ember's End who struck me as a particularly strong parallel for Gandalf, Merry, Gimli, Pippin, or Legolas, though I suppose a few different characters kind of fill their roles.