starters from the 1910s novel, THE CHILDREN OF HรRIN, by j. r. r. tolkien
โthat oath is still on us.โ
โbut you live, and so does the enemy who has done this to us.โ
โthat was a great battle, they say.โ
โit may be that we fled from the fear of the dark, only to find it here before us, and nowhere else to fly but the sea.โ
โwe are not afraid any longer.โ
โgrief is a hone to a hard mind.โ
โwhat lies under your words?โ
โwhere else is hope?โ
โi shall be far away and all alone.โ
โi would rather look on my foes with my true face.โ
โwhat do you desire?โ
โi see that i am mistaken.โ
โwe take their lives as forfeit, unless they can ransom them.โ
โa strange way to gain entry to a fellowship โฆ โ
โoutlaws know no law but their needs.โ
โthen choose a new captain!โ
โnow tell your tale, and be brief.โ
โis it farewell, then?โ
โit is growing dark.โ
โthere is blood on the hill - top.โ
โdo you fear that you have followed a spider to the heart of his web?โ
โwhy do you look upon me so?โ
โi offer you freedom.โ
โmaybe the tale is too sad yet to tell.โ
โi will flee no more.โ
โwe are hemmed in this land.โ
โwhere all lies on chance, to chance we must trust.โ
โyou come at last; i have waited to long!โ
โit was a dark road. i have come as i could.โ