grammaboodawg
Elvenhome
Mar 6 2024, 3:02pm
Views: 5869
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TIME - March 6
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Today in Middle-earth
March 6, 3019 (S.R. 1419)
1. Aragorn overtaken by the Dúnedain in the early hours.
(from the appendices)
..."When they were some fifty paces off, Éomer cried in a loud voice: 'Halt! Halt! Who rides in Rohan?'
...The pursuers brought their steeds to a sudden stand. A silence followed... ...in the moonlight, a horseman could be seen dismounting and walking slowly forward. His hand showed white as he held it up, palm outward, in token of peace; but the king's men gripped their weapons. At ten paces the man stopped. He was tall, a dark standing shadow. Then his clear voice rang out.
...'Rohan! Rohan did you say? This is a glad word. We seek that land in haste from long afar.'
...'You have found it,' said Éomer... '...But it is the realm of Théoden the King. None ride here save by his leave. Who are you? And what is your haste?'
...'Halbarad Dúnadan, Ranger of the North I am... ...We seek one Aragorn son of Arathorn, and we heard that he was in Rohan.'
...'And you have found him also!' cried Aragorn. Giving his reins to Merry, he ran forward and embraced the newcomer. 'Halbarad!' he said. 'Of all joys this is the least expected!'"
2. Merry at Helm's Deep.
(not from the appendices)
..."Merry slept until he was roused by Legolas and Gimli. 'The Sun is high,' said Legolas. 'All others are up and doing. Come, Master Sluggard, and look at this place while you may!'
...'There was a battle here three nights ago... ...and here Legolas and I played a game that I won only by a single orc. Come and see how it was! And there are caves, Merry, caves of wonder! Shall we visit them, Legolas, do you think?'
...'Nay! There is not time,' said the Elf. 'Do not spoil the wonder with haste! I have given you my word to return hither with you, if a day of peace and freedom comes again.'"
3. Merry's moved to honour the King.
(not from the appendices)
..."'I have a sword,' said Merry, climbing from his seat, and drawing from its black sheath his small bright blade. Filled suddenly with love for this old man, he knelt on one knee and took his hand and kissed it. 'May I lay the sword of Meriadoc of the Shire on your lap, Théoden King...? ...Receive my service, if you will!'
...'Gladly will I take it,' said the king; and laying his long old hands upon the brown hair of the hobbit, he blessed him. 'Rise now, Meriadoc, esquire of Rohan of the household of Meduseld...! ...Take your sword and bear it unto good fortune!'
...'As a father you shall be to me,' said Merry.
...'For a little while,' said Théoden."
4. Théoden sets out from the Hornburg for Harrowdale. Aragorn sets out later.
(from the appendices)
..."A little apart the Rangers sat, silent, in an ordered company, armed with spear and bow and sword. They were clad in cloaks of dark grey, and their hoods were cast now over helm and head. Their horses were strong and of proud bearing, but rough-haired; and one stood there without a rider, Aragorn's own horse that they had brought from the North; Roheryn was his name…."
..."The king mounted his horse, Snowmane, and Merry sat beside him on his pony: Stybba... ...Presently Éomer came out from the gate, and with him was Aragorn and Halbarad bearing the great staff close-furled in black, and two tall men, neither young nor old... ...the sons of Elrond, that few could tell them apart: dark-haired, grey-eyed, and their faces elven-fair, clad alike in bright mail beneath cloaks of silver-grey. Behind them walked Legolas and Gimli. But Merry had eyes only for Aragorn, so startling was the change that he saw in him, as if in one night many years had fallen on his head. Grim was his face, grey-hued and weary.
...'I am troubled in mind, lord,' he said, standing by the king's horse. 'I have heard strange words, and I see new perils far off. I have laboured long in thought, and now I fear that I must change my purpose….' …He looked up, and it seemed that he had made some decision; his face was less troubled.... '...by your leave, lord, I must take new counsel for myself and my kindred. We must ride our own road, and no longer in secret. For me the time of stealth has passed. I will ride east by the swiftest way, and I will take the Paths of the Dead.'
...'The Paths of the Dead!' said Théoden, and trembled. 'Why do you speak of them?' Éomer turned and gazed at Aragorn, and it seemed to Merry that the faces of the Riders that sat within hearing turned pale at the words. 'If there be in truth such paths,' said Théoden, 'their gate is in Dunharrow; but no living man may pass it.'
...'Alas! Aragorn my friend!' said Éomer. 'I had hoped that we should ride to war together; but if you seek the Paths of the Dead... ...it is little likely that we shall ever meet again under the Sun.'
...'That road, I will take, nonetheless,' said Aragorn. 'But I say to you, Éomer, that in battle we may yet meet again, though all the hosts of Mordor should stand between.'"
5. The Fellowship breaks again.
(not from the appendices)
... 'Farewell, lord!' said Aragorn. 'Ride unto great renown! Farewell, Merry! I leave you in good hands, better than we hoped when we hunted the orcs to Fangorn. Legolas and Gimli will still hunt with me... ...but we shall not forget you.'
... 'Good-bye!' said Merry. He could find no more to say. He felt very small... ...he was puzzled and depressed by all these gloomy words. More than ever he missed the unquenchable cheerfulness of Pippin... ...the Riders set forth. They rode over the Dike and down the Coomb... ...Aragorn rode to the Dike and watched till the king's men were far down the Coomb. Then he turned to Halbarad.
... 'There go three that I love, and the smallest not the least... ...He knows not to what end he rides; yet if he knew, he still would go on.'
... 'A little people, but of great worth are the Shirefolk,' said Halbarad. 'Little do they know of our long labour for the safekeeping of their borders... ...yet I grudge it not.'
... 'And now our fates are woven together,' said Aragorn. 'And yet, alas! here we must part. Well, I must eat a little, and then we also must hasten away. Come, Legolas and Gimli! I must speak with you as I eat.'"
6. Aragorn claims his own.
(not from the appendices)
... "[Legolas, Gimli and Aragorn] went back into the Burg; yet for some time Aragorn sat silent at the table in the hall... '...Come!' said Legolas at last. 'Speak and be comforted, and shake off the shadow! What has happened since we came back to this grim place...?'
... 'A struggle somewhat grimmer for my part than the Battle of the Hornburg... ...I have looked in the Stone of Orthanc, my friends.'
... 'You have looked in that accursed stone of wizardry!' exclaimed Gimli with fear and astonishment in his face. Did you say aught to--him?' Even Gandalf feared that encounter.'
... 'You forgot to whom you speak,' said Aragorn sternly, and his eyes glinted. 'Did I not openly proclaim my title before the doors of Edoras? What do you fear that I should say to him? Nay, Gimli,' he said in a softer voice... ...the grimness left his face, and he looked like one who has laboured in sleepless pain for many nights. 'Nay, my friends, I am the lawful master of the Stone... ...I had both the right and the strength to use it... ...The right cannot be doubted. The strength was enough--barely.'
... He drew a deep breath. 'It was a bitter struggle, and the weariness is slow to pass. I spoke no word to him, and in the end I wrenched the Stone to my own will. That alone he will find hard to endure.'"
7. Pippin rides with Gandalf and comes to Edoras.
(not from the appendices)
..."…in the dawn he had seen a pale gleam of gold, and they had come to the silent town and the great empty house on the hill. And hardly had they reached its shelter when the winged shadow had passed over once again, and men wilted with fear. But Gandalf had spoken soft words to him, and he had slept in a corner... ...dimly aware of comings and goings and of men talking and Gandalf giving orders. And then again riding, riding in the night."
8. Frodo, Sam and Gollum approach the northern border of Ithilien.
(not from the appendices)
..."Frodo slept at times, deeply and peacefully, either trusting Gollum or too tired to trouble about him; but Sam found it difficult to do more than doze, even when Gollum was plainly fast asleep, whiffling and twitching in his secret dreams. Hunger, perhaps, more than mistrust kept him wakeful; he had begun to long for a good homely meal, 'something hot out of the pot.'"
There's room for a little more:
Remember our TORnsib White Gull? Here's her great response to today's TIME on March 6, 2010 looking at guidance during the Quest.
... "Merry, who, I think was portrayed as the cleverest and most intuitive of the hobbits other than Frodo, has the gentlest guidance. Pippin, probably the most clueless, has the most strict. And Frodo, who, it would seem, is the wisest, but most in need, has the least guidance. Sam has Frodo and that is all he wants, which for him, is enough. Save, perhaps, for his gaffer's instilled wisdom, which comes in very handy when needed. But, overall, there is the whole, subtle scheme of divine guidance, that uses all and empowers all."
We have been there and back again.
TIME Google Calendar
(This post was edited by grammaboodawg on Mar 6 2024, 3:05pm)
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