The Death of Glaurung
The Death of Glaurung is the seventeenth chapter of The Children of Húrin.
Synopsis
It was already night when Turambar, Dorlas and Hunthor arrived to Cabed-en-Aras and began to go down the ravine. The Teiglin's narrow was noisy, stony and very dangerous, and Dorlas, cowed, didn't follow Turambar. While the two men climbed the narrow, they heared the coming of Glaurung, and it happened as Turambar hoped: the dragon crossed the ravine directly from above. With the passing of the dragon, the whole ground was shaking and the air was hot and poisoned. Turambar ran to the dragon quickly and almost falled to the abyss, but Hunthor saved him. However, in that moment a rock hit Hunthor's head and falled in to the river.
Turambar lamented, but didn't stepped back and with all his will cimbed up the narrow to the dragon's position. Then he took his sword Gurthang and he stabbed Glaurung's belly to the hilt. Crying of pain, the dragon crossed to the other shore with the sword still nailed. He twisted in agony till falling in the ground.
After the slaying, Turambar almost fainted, but with great strength he left the ravine and approached the dragon. Mocking of the fallen, Turambar took back his sword, but a blood stream sprayed his hand, and with the poison and Glaurung's look, he falled unconscious.
Meanwhile, in Nen Girith the dragon's cry was heared by Níniel and those who followed her, and everybody panicked and refused to move from where they are, thinking that the Black Sword had died. Then Brandir arrived there and found Níniel shaking and petrified. Then he took her hand and tried to run away with her from Brethil. When Níniel realized what was happening, she walked away from him and ran in despair through the woods, with Bradir limping behind her.
Suddenly, Níniel saw Glaurung's body under the moonlight, and near it was Turambar's. She ran to help him, and she bandaged his injured hand, but he didn't wake. The dragon did wake up, and with his last words he greeted her as the daughter of Húrin and sister of Túrin. Then Glaurung finally died and his enchantment upon her faded away. Thus Niënor remembered all her past and cried: "Farewell, O twice beloved! A Túrin Turambar turún' ambartanen: Master of Doom by Doom mastered!"
Brandrir was there hearing everything, and tried to stop her when she started running away moved by a painful frenzy. But she didn't wait for him and jumped into the Teiglin. Thus Cabed-en-Aras was known since then as Cabed Naeramarth, "Leap of Dreadful Doom". Brandir leaved the place horrified, thinking that Túrin was indeed dead. In the way back he found Dorlas, and realized Dorlas had left Turambar and Hunthor in their quest, he blamed him for everything. Dorlas attacked Brandir, but this killed him with a lunge of his sword.
Brandir arrived Nen Girith. There he explained to the afraid people what happened: the dragon was dead, and also Turambar, and both were indeed good news, because Turambar and Níniel were actually Túrin and Niënor, the children of Húrin, that came to Brethil to fulfill their dark fate. Thus Brandir called Brethil Sarch nia Hin Húrin, "Grave of the Children of Húrin". The people there was startled with the news, but they decided to build a grave for their savior and headed to Cabed-en-Aras.
