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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jun 17 2015, 6:47pm
Post #26 of 37
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Here's part 2 of a Book Spoiler I posted a couple of days ago... where Thorin tells the tale of the Dwarves and their dispute with Smaug... for a moment of Tolkien-zen. From An Unexpected Party: The Hobbit
... ""Undoubtedly that was what brought the dragon. Dragons steal gold and jewels... ...wherever they can find them; and they guard their plunder as long as they live (which is practically forever, unless they are killed), and never enjoy a brass ring of it. Indeed they hardly know a good bit of work from a bad... ...and they can't make a thing for themselves, not even mend a little loose scale of their armour. There were lots of dragons in the North in those days... ...There was a most specially greedy, strong and wicked worm called Smaug. One day he flew up into the air and came south. The first we heard of it was a noise like a hurricane coming from the North, and the pine-trees on the Mountain creaking and cracking in the wind. Some of the dwarves who happened to be outside (I was one luckily... ...and it saved my life that day)—well, from a good way off we saw the dragon settled on our mountain in a spout of flame. Then he came down the slopes and when he reached the woods they all went up in fire. By that time all the bells were ringing in Dale and the warriors were arming. The dwarves rushed out of their great gate; but there was the dragon waiting for them. None escaped that way. The river rushed up in steam and a fog fell on Dale, and in the fog the dragon came on them and destroyed most of the warriors... ...Then he went back and crept in through the Front Gate and routed out all the halls, and lanes, and tunnels, alleys, cellars, mansions and passages. After that there were no dwarves left alive inside, and he took all their wealth for himself. Probably, for that is the dragons' way, he has piled it all up in a great heap far inside, and sleeps on it for a bed. Later he used to crawl out of the great gate and come up night to Dale, and carry away people, especially maidens, to eat, until Dale was ruined, and all the people dead or gone... ...I don't suppose anyone lives nearer to the Mountain that the far edge of the Long Lake now-a-days.
... "The few of us that were well outside sat and wept in hiding, and cursed Smaug; and there we were unexpectedly joined by my father and my grandfather with singed beards. They looked very grim but they said very little. When I asked how they had got away, they told me to hold my tongue, and said that one day in the proper time I should know. After that we went away, and we have had to earn our livings as best we could up and down the lands, often enough sinking as low as blacksmith-work or even coal-mining. But we have never forgotten our stolen treasure... ...we still mean to get it back, and to bring our curses home to Smaug—if we can.""
Hobbit: BotFA Geeky Observation List draft #5 1/30/15
6th draft of TH:AUJ Geeky Observations List - November 28, 2013
4th draft of TH:DOS Geeky Observations List - May 15, 2014
We have been there and back again.
TIME Google Calendar
TORn's Geeky Observations Lists for LotR and The Hobbit
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jun 18 2015, 4:40pm
Post #27 of 37
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Here's a Book Spoiler that tells a bit of the history of Mirkwood... for a moment of Tolkien-zen. From OF THE RINGS OF POWER AND THE THIRD AGE: The Silmarillion
..."Now of old the name of that forest was Greenwood the Great, and its wide halls and aisles were the haunt of many beasts and of birds... ...and there was the realm of King Thranduil under the oak and the beech. But after many years, when well nigh a third of that age of the world had passed, a darkness crept slowly through the wood from the southward, and fear walked there in shadowy glades; fell beasts came hunting, and cruel and evil creatures laid there their snares. ...Then the name of the forest was changed and Mirkwood it was called, for the nightshade lay deep there, and few dared to pass through, save only in the north where Thranduil's people still held the evil at bay. Whence it came few could tell, and it was long ere even the Wise could discover it. It was the Shadow of Sauron and the sign of his return... ...out of the wastes of the East he took up his abode in the south of the forest, and slowly he grew and took shape there again; in a dark hill he made his dwelling and wrought there his sorcery, and all folk feared the Sorcerer of Dol Guldur, and yet they knew not at first how great was their peril."
Hobbit: BotFA Geeky Observation List draft #5 1/30/15
6th draft of TH:AUJ Geeky Observations List - November 28, 2013
4th draft of TH:DOS Geeky Observations List - May 15, 2014
We have been there and back again.
TIME Google Calendar
TORn's Geeky Observations Lists for LotR and The Hobbit
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jun 19 2015, 12:17pm
Post #28 of 37
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T'is a Book Spoiler of one of Tolkien's lovely ways of setting up an event and the way he can draw you into it... for a moment of Tolkien-zen. From The Palantír: The Two Towers ....."Pippin said no more. He lay still now, but sleep remained far away; and it was not encouraged by the sound of Merry breathing softly, asleep in a few minutes after saying good night. The thought of the dark globe seemed to grow stronger as all grew quiet. Pippin felt again its weight in his hands, and saw again the mysterious red depths into which he had looked for a moment. He tossed and turned and tried to think of something else.
.... At last he could stand it no longer. He got up and looked round. It was chilly, and he wrapped his cloak about him. The moon was shining cold and white... ...and the shadows of the bushes were black. All about lay sleeping shapes. The two guards were not in view... ...Driven by some impulse that he did not understand, Pippin walked softly to where Gandalf lay. He looked down at him. The wizard seemed asleep, but with lids not fully closed: there was a glitter of eyes under his long lashes. Pippin stepped back hastily. But Gandalf made no sign; and drawn forward once more, half against is will, the hobbit crept up again from behind the wizard's head. He was rolled in a blanket, with his cloak spread over the top; and close beside him, between his right side and his bent arm, there was a hummock, something round wrapped in a dark cloth; his hand seemed only just to have slipped off it to the ground.' ..
....Hardly breathing, Pippin crept nearer, foot by foot. At last he knelt down. Then he put his hands out stealthily, and slowly lifted the lump up..."
Hobbit: BotFA Geeky Observation List draft #5 1/30/15
6th draft of TH:AUJ Geeky Observations List - November 28, 2013
4th draft of TH:DOS Geeky Observations List - May 15, 2014
We have been there and back again.
TIME Google Calendar
TORn's Geeky Observations Lists for LotR and The Hobbit
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jun 20 2015, 11:46am
Post #29 of 37
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Today in Middle-earth.
June 20, 3018 (S.R. 1418)
1. Sauron attacks Osgiliath.
(from the appendices)
...[Boromir recounts for the Council] "'But this very year, in the days of June, sudden war came upon us out of Mordor, and we were swept away. We were outnumbered, for Mordor has allied itself with the Easterlings and the cruel Haradrim; but it was not by numbers that we were defeated. A power was there that we have not felt before.
...'Some said that it could be seen, like a great black horseman... ...Wherever he came a madness filled our foes, but fear fell on our boldest, so that horse and man gave way and fled. Only a remnant of our eastern force came back, destroying the last bridge that still stood amid the ruins of Osgiliath.
...'I was in the company that held the bridge, until it was cast down behind us. Four only were saved by swimming; my brother and myself and two others. But still we fight on, holding all the west shores of Anduin...."
2. About the same time Thranduil is attacked and Gollum escapes.
(from the appendices)
...[Legolas recounts for the Council] "'Alas! alas!' cried Legolas, and in his fair elvish face there was great distress. 'The tidings that I was sent to bring must now be told. They are not good, but only here have I learned how evil they may seem to this company. Sméagol, who is now called Gollum, has escaped.'
...'Escaped?' cried Aragorn. 'That is ill news indeed. We shall all rue it bitterly, I fear. How came the folk of Thranduil to fail in their trust?'
...'Not through lack of watchfulness... ...but perhaps through over-kindliness... ...we fear that the prisoner had aid from others, and that more is known of our doings than we could wish. We guarded this creature day and night... ...much though we wearied of the task. But Gandalf bade us hope still for his cure, and we had not the heart to keep him ever in dungeons under the earth, where he would fall back into his old black thoughts.'
...'You were less tender to me,' said Glóin with a flash of his eyes, as old memories were stirred of his imprisonment in the deep places of the Elven-king's halls.
...'Now come!' said Gandalf. 'Pray do not interrupt, my good Glóin. That was a regrettable misunderstanding, long set right. If all the grievances... ...between Elves and Dwarves are to be brought up here, we may as well abandon this council.'
...'Glóin rose and bowed, and Legolas continued. 'In the days of fair weather we led Gollum through the woods; and there was a high tree standing alone far from the others which he liked to climb. Often we let him mount up to the highest branches, until he felt the free wind; but we set a guard at the tree's foot. One day, he refused to come down, and the guards had no mind to climb after him... ...so they sat by the tree far into the night.
...It was that very night of summer, yet moonless and starless, that Orcs came on us at unawares. We drove them off after some time; they were many and fierce... ...When the battle was over, we found that Gollum was gone, and his guards were slain or taken. It then seemed plain to us that the attack had been made for his rescue, and that he knew of it beforehand. How that was contrived we cannot guess; but Gollum is cunning, and the spies of the Enemy are many. The dark things that were driven out in the year of the Dragon's fall have returned in greater numbers, and Mirkwood is again an evil place, save where our realm is maintained.
...'We have failed to recapture Gollum. We came on his trail among those of many Orcs, and it plunged deep into the Forest, going south... ...and we dared not continue the hunt; for we were drawing nigh to Dol Guldur, and that is still a very evil place; we do not go that way.'"
Hobbit: BotFA Geeky Observation List draft #5 1/30/15
6th draft of TH:AUJ Geeky Observations List - November 28, 2013
4th draft of TH:DOS Geeky Observations List - May 15, 2014
We have been there and back again.
TIME Google Calendar
TORn's Geeky Observations Lists for LotR and The Hobbit
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jun 21 2015, 10:40am
Post #30 of 37
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In celebration of the summer solstice... a collective of Today in Middle-Earth with some drabbling here and there.
June 21, 2941 (S.R. 1341)
1. Bilbo, Gandalf, Thorin and Company rest in Rivendell.
(not from the appendices-drabble-no text)
...Bilbo found himself turned around in the fair house of Elrond as he sought the great Hall of Fire to meet Gandalf and the Dwarves. He prided himself on his sense of direction, but finally conceded to being lost. Just as he was about to retrace his steps, a green-clad Elf approached him smiling. 'Greetings Bilbo Baggins of the Shire. I am Gildor Inglorion. I'm sent to escort you to your friends and Lord Elrond.'
...'Ah! Good!' sighed the hobbit. 'I began to fear surviving Trolls and the Wild only to be lost within the walls of this grand house!'
June 21, 2942 (S.R. 1342)
1. Bilbo and Gandalf travel home.
(not from the appendices-drabble-no text)
...Even though Bilbo was anxious to rest in the familiar comfort of his own home, he agreed with Gandalf it would be wise to stop for the night. Their ponies were moving slowly under their burden of the chests of gold, silver, and treasures accumulated during the journey. They had passed the fields where the trees of Woody End could be seen in the distance and finally came to Frogmorton. It was decided they should spend the night at The Floating Log and begin fresh in the morning travelling the last long miles to Hobbiton and finally to Bag End.
June 21, 2951 (S.R. 1351)
1. Aragorn comes to Lórien,
(Appendix A & B – determined from text)
..."'It came to pass that when Aragorn was nine and forty years of age he returned from perils in the dark confines of Mordor, where Sauron now dwelt again and was busy with evil. He was weary and he wished to go back to Rivendell and rest there... ...ere he journeyed into the far countries; and on his way he came to the borders of Lórien and was admitted to the hidden land by the Lady Galadriel.
...'He did not know it, but Arwen Undómiel was also there, dwelling again for a time with the kin of her mother. She was little changed... ...yet her face was more grave, and her laughter now seldom was heard. But Aragorn was grown to full stature of body and mind, and Galadriel bade him cast aside his wayworn raiment, and she clothed him in silver and white, with a cloak of elven-grey and a bright gem on his brow. Then more than any kind of Men he appeared, and seemed rather an Elf-lord from the Isles of the West... ...thus it was that Arwen first beheld him again after their long parting; and as he came walking towards her under the trees of Caras Galadon laden with flowers of gold, her choice was made and her doom appointed.'"
June 21, 3018 (S.R. 1418)
1. Summer at Bag End.
(not from the appendices-drabble-some is no text)
...In the fine weather, Frodo forgot his troubles for a while. The Shire had seldom seen so fair a summer..."
...He always enjoyed Gandalf's company and was quite pleased when his good friend showed no signs of leaving. Even though there were whisperings and side-long glances at the wizard from the villagers when they passed along the roads together, Frodo and Gandalf would take pleasure in pleasant conversations while sitting and smoking, frequent and plentiful meals, and long peaceful walks. Still, Frodo couldn't help noticing Sam seemed more attentive than usual of Bag End's gardens and flowers along the walls.
June 21, 3019 (S.R. 1418)
1. In Minas Tirith.
(not from the appendices)
..."The Hobbits still remained in Minas Tirith, with Legolas and Gimli; for Aragorn was loth for the Fellowship to be dissolved. 'At last all such things must end,' he said, 'but I should have you wait a little while longer...."
......In those days the Companions of the Ring dwelt together in a fair house with Gandalf, and they went to and fro as they wished."
June 21, 3020 (S.R. 1420)
1. A cherished summer in the Shire.
(not from the appendices)
..."...if Sam thought himself lucky, Frodo knew that he was more lucky himself; for there was not a hobbit in the Shire that was looked after with such care. When the labours of repair had all been planned and set going he took to a quiet life, writing a great deal and going through all his notes. He resigned the office of Deputy Mayor at the Free Fair that midsummer, and dear old Will Whitfoot had another seven years of presiding at Banquets.
...Merry and Pippin lived together for some time at Crickhollow... ...The two young Travellers cut a great dash in the Shire with their songs and their tales and their finery, and their wonderful parties. 'Lordly' folk called them, meaning nothing but good; for it warmed all hearts to see them go riding by with their mail-shirts so bright and their shields so splendid, laughing and singing songs of far away; and if they were now large and magnificent, they were unchanged otherwise, unless they were indeed more fairspoken and more jovial and full of merriment....
......Frodo and Sam, however, went back to ordinary attire, except that when there was need they both wore long grey cloaks, finely woven and clasped at the throat with beautiful brooches; and Mr. Frodo wore always a white jewel on a chain that he often would finger."
June 21, 3021 (S.R. 1421)
1. Frodo's memory is stirred when looking at the summer flowers.
(not from the appendices)
...[Frodo remembered when he] "...stood awhile... ...lost in wonder. It seemed to him that he had stepped through a high window that looked on a vanished world. A light was upon it for which his language had no name... ...the shapes seemed at once clear cut, as if they had been first conceived and drawn at the uncovering of his eyes, and ancient as if they had endured for ever. He saw no colour but those he knew, gold and white and blue and green, but they were fresh and poignant, as if he had at that moment first perceived them and made for them names new and wonderful. In winter here no heart could mourn for summer or for spring. No blemish or sickness or deformity could be seen in anything that grew upon the earth. On the land of Lórien there was no stain....
......Though he walked and breathed, and about him living leaves and flowers were stirred by the same cool wind as fanned his face, Frodo felt that he was in a timeless land that did not fade or change or fall into forgetfulness....
...[Frodo still] would walk there, upon the grass among elanor and niphredil in fair Lothlórien."
Hobbit: BotFA Geeky Observation List draft #5 1/30/15
6th draft of TH:AUJ Geeky Observations List - November 28, 2013
4th draft of TH:DOS Geeky Observations List - May 15, 2014
We have been there and back again.
TIME Google Calendar
TORn's Geeky Observations Lists for LotR and The Hobbit
(This post was edited by dernwyn on Jun 23 2015, 1:26am)
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Otaku-sempai
Immortal
Jun 21 2015, 2:48pm
Post #31 of 37
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And, of course, today is Midsummer!
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Midsummer is still a week and a half away on this date in the Shire Reckoning, but it is today in respect to the Summer Solstice. The Company of Thorin Oakenshield has left Rivendell and is making for the High Pass over the Misty Mountains.
"At the end of the journey, all men think that their youth was Arcadia..." - Phantom F. Harlock
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jun 22 2015, 10:29pm
Post #32 of 37
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Today in Middle-earth
June 22, 2942 (S.R. 1342)
1. Bilbo returns to the Shire with the Ring. (That same year, Sauron returns in secret to Mordor)
(determined from text)
..."...a day came at last when they were in sight of the country where Bilbo had been born and bred, where the shapes of the land and of the trees were as well known to him as his hands and toes. Coming to a rise he could see his own Hill... ...And so they crossed the bridge and passed the mill by the river and came right back to Bilbo's own door....
..."...Bless me! What's going on?" he cried. There was a great commotion, and people of all sorts, respectable and unrespectable, were thick round the door, and many were going in and out—not even wiping their feet on the mat, as Bilbo noticed with annoyance.
...If he was surprised, they were more surprised still. He had arrived back in the middle of an auction! There was a large notice in black and red hung on the gate, stating that on June the Twenty-second Messrs. Grubb, Grubb, and Burrowes would sell by auction the effects of the late Bilbo Baggins Esquire, of Bag-End, Underhill, Hobbiton. Sale to commence at ten o'clock sharp. It was now nearly lunchtime, and most of the things had already been sold, for various prices from next to nothing ... ...Bilbo's cousins the Sackville-Bagginses were, in fact, busy measuring his rooms to see if their own furniture would fit. In short Bilbo was "Presumed Dead," and not everybody that said so was sorry to find the presumption was wrong.
...The return of Mr. Bilbo Baggins created quite a disturbance, both under the Hill and over the Hill, and across the Water; it was a great deal more than a nine days' wonder. The legal bother... ...lasted for years. It was quite a long time before Mr. Baggins was in fact admitted to be alive again. The people who had got specially good bargains at the Sale took a deal of convincing; and in the end to save time Bilbo had to buy back quite a lot of his own furniture. Many of his silver spoons mysteriously disappeared and were never accounted for. Personally he suspected the Sackville-Bagginses. On their side they never admitted that the returned Baggins was genuine, and they were not on friendly terms with Bilbo ever after. They really had wanted to live in his nice hobbit-hole so very much."
Hobbit: BotFA Geeky Observation List draft #5 1/30/15
6th draft of TH:AUJ Geeky Observations List - November 28, 2013
4th draft of TH:DOS Geeky Observations List - May 15, 2014
We have been there and back again.
TIME Google Calendar
TORn's Geeky Observations Lists for LotR and The Hobbit
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jun 23 2015, 9:36am
Post #34 of 37
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June 23 BS continuing Bilbo's return to Bag End.
Here's a Book Spoiler about The Hobbit's return and how it became part of the "legend of Bilbo" through the gaffer's interpretation... for a moment of Tolkien-zen. From A Long-Expected Party: The Fellowship of the Ring
..."'...I reckon it was a nasty knock for those Sackville-Bagginses. They thought they were going to get Bag End, that time when he went off and was thought to be dead. And then he comes back... ...and he goes on living and living, and never looking a day older, bless him! And suddenly he produces an heir, and has all the papers made out proper. The Sackville-Bagginses won't never see the inside of Bag End now....'
...'There's a tidy bit of money tucked away up there, I hear tell,' said a stranger, a visitor on business from Michel Delving in the Westfarthing. 'All the top of your hill is full of tunnels packed with chests of gold and silver, and jools, by what I've heard.'
...'Then you've heard more than I can speak to.... ...I know nothing about jools. Mr. Bilbo is free with his money, and there seems no lack of it; but I know of no tunnel-making. I saw Mr. Bilbo when he came back, a matter of sixty years ago, when I was a lad. I'd not long come prentice of old Holman... ...but he had me up at Bag End helping him to keep folks from trampling and trapessing all over the garden while the sale was on. And in the middle of it all Mr. Bilbo comes up the Hill with a pony and some mighty big bags and a couple of chests. I don't doubt they were mostly full of treasure he had picked up in foreign parts, where there be mountains of gold... ...but there wasn't enough to fill tunnels...'
......But the Gaffer did not convince his audience. The legend of Bilbo's wealth was now too firmly fixed in the minds of the younger generation of hobbits.
...'Ah, but he has likely enough been adding to what he brought at first,' argued the miller, voicing common opinion. 'He's often away from home. And look at the outlandish folk that visit him: dwarves coming at night, and that old wandering conjuror, Gandalf, and all. You can say what you like, Gaffer, but Bag End's a queer place, and its folk are queerer.'"
Hobbit: BotFA Geeky Observation List draft #5 1/30/15
6th draft of TH:AUJ Geeky Observations List - November 28, 2013
4th draft of TH:DOS Geeky Observations List - May 15, 2014
We have been there and back again.
TIME Google Calendar
TORn's Geeky Observations Lists for LotR and The Hobbit
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jun 24 2015, 9:41am
Post #35 of 37
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Today in Middle-earth
June 24, 2942 (S.R. 1342)
1. Bilbo as host.
(determined from text-no text)
...To the indignity and confusion of the townsfolk, Gandalf remained at Bag End for many days. Most of them weren't convinced that Bilbo hadn't had a spell cast on him by the wizard. Some insisted it wasn't Bilbo at all but some play-acting spy of Gandalf's out to get Bag End. But Bilbo was so content to be back in his home that he hardly noticed the whispers and wide berths he was given by those he met along Bagshot Row. Gandalf, however, was concerned for Bilbo's ability to re-establish his life and was careful not to show himself unnecessarily.
June 24, 3018 (S.R. 1418)
1. Frodo as host.
(not from the appendices-no text)
...Gandalf continues to enjoy a stay with Frodo at Bag End whilst Frodo slowly begins to lay his plans for leaving the Shire with the Ring.
June 24, 3019 (S.R. 1419)
1. The Fellowship rests in Minas Tirith.
(not from the appendices-no text)
...Each of the Companions found it easy to adjust to life in the White City. They were warmly greeted by everyone they passed in the streets, enjoyed sleeping on soft feather pillows and with a roof over their heads, and to the delight of the Hobbits, the meals came regularly and in plenty.
June 24, 3020 (S.R. 1420)
1. Frodo as family.
(not from the appendices-no text)
...Newlyweds Sam and Rosie Gamgee have moved into Bag End with Frodo as the Shire enjoys the most pleasant Summer any can remember.
June 24, 3021 (S.R. 1421)
1. Uncle Frodo with his Elanor.
(not from the appendices-no text)
...Three month old Elanor has completely captured the hearts of all; especially her Uncle Frodo. He would spend endless hours with her sitting before the fire quietly singing or telling stories of her Gaffer and Gammer, Uncles Merry and Pippin, great Uncle Bilbo and Fellowship companions. Elanor would watch his face; listen to his voice soothing and, at times, comedy as evidenced by her laughter. Frodo could be seen with her cradled in his arms walking through Hobbiton and the fields and forest surrounding her home as he introduces her to the river, trees, flowers, and personalities of the sky.
Hobbit: BotFA Geeky Observation List draft #5 1/30/15
6th draft of TH:AUJ Geeky Observations List - November 28, 2013
4th draft of TH:DOS Geeky Observations List - May 15, 2014
We have been there and back again.
TIME Google Calendar
TORn's Geeky Observations Lists for LotR and The Hobbit
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jun 25 2015, 9:47am
Post #36 of 37
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Today in Middle-earth
June 25, 3019 (S.R. 1419)
1. King Elessar finds the sapling of the white tree.
(from the appendices)
..."There came a day when Gandalf could not be found, and the Companions wondered what was going forward. But Gandalf took Aragorn out from the City by night, and he brought him to the southern feet of Mount Mindolluin; and there they found a path made in ages past that few now dared to tread. For it led up onto the mountain to a high hallow where only the kings had been wont to go... ...to a high field below the snows that clad the lofty peaks, and it looked down over the precipice that stood behind the City. And standing there they surveyed the lands, for the morning was come; and they saw the towers of the City far below them like white pencils touched by the sunlight, and all the vale of Anduin was like a garden, and the Mountains of Shadow were veiled in a golden mist. Upon the one side their sight reached to the grey Emyn Muil, and the glint of Rauros was like a star twinkling far off; and upon the other side they saw the River like a ribbon laid down to Pelargir, and beyond that was... ...the Sea.
...And Gandalf said: 'This is your realm, and the heart of the greater realm that shall be. The Third Age of the world is ended, and the new age is begun... ...it is your task to order its beginning and to preserve what may be preserved. For though much has been saved, much must now pass away; and the power of the Three Rings also is ended. And all the lands that you see, and those that lie round about them, shall be dwellings of Men. For the time comes of the Dominion of Men, and the Elder Kindred shall fade or depart.'
...'I know it well, dear friend,' said Aragorn; 'but I would still have your counsel.'
...'Not for long now,' said Gandalf. 'The Third Age was my age. I was the Enemy of Sauron; and my work is finished. I shall go soon. The burden must lie now upon you and your kindred.'
...'But I shall die,' said Aragorn. 'For I am a mortal man, and though being what I am and of the race of the West unmingled, I may have life far longer than other men... ...when those who are now in the wombs of women are born and have grown old, I too shall grow old. And who then shall govern Gondor and those who look to this City as to their queen, if my desire be not granted? The Tree in the Court of the Fountain is still withered and barren. When shall I see a sign that it will ever be otherwise?'
...'Turn your face from the green world, and look where all seems barren and cold!' said Gandalf.
...'Then Aragorn turned, and there was a stony slope behind him ... ...he was aware that alone there in the waste a growing thing stood. And he climbed to it, and saw that out of the very edge of the snow there sprang a sapling tree no more than three foot high. Already it had put forth young leaves long and shapely, dark above and silver beneath, and upon its slender crown it bore one small cluster of flowers whose white petals shone like the sunlit snow.
...Then Aragorn cried: 'Ye! utúvienyes! I have found it! Lo! here is a scion of the Eldest of Trees! But how comes it here? For it is not itself yet seven years old.'
......Gandalf coming looked at it, and said; 'Verily this is a sapling of the line of Nimloth the fair; and that was a seedling of Galathilion, and that a fruit of Telperion of many names, Eldest of Trees. Who shall say how it comes here in the appointed hour? But this is an ancient hallow, and ere the kings failed or the Tree withered in the court, a fruit must have been set here... ...the fruit of the Tree comes seldom to ripeness, yet the life within may then lie sleeping through many long years, and none can foretell the time in which it will awake. Remember this. For if ever a fruit ripens, it should be planted, lest the line die out of the world. Here it has lain hidden on the mountain, even as the race of Elendil lay hidden in the wastes of the North. Yet the line of Nimloth is older far than your line, King Elessar.'
...Then Aragorn laid his hand gently to the sapling, and lo! it seemed to hold only lightly to the earth, and it was removed without hurt; and Aragorn bore it back to the Citadel. Then the withered tree was uprooted, but with reverence; and... ...laid to rest in the silence of Rath Dínen. And Aragorn planted the new tree in the court by the fountain, and swiftly and gladly it began to grow; and when the month of June entered in it was laden with blossom.
...'The sign has been given,' said Aragorn, 'and the day is not far off.' And he set watchmen upon the walls."
Hobbit: BotFA Geeky Observation List draft #5 1/30/15
6th draft of TH:AUJ Geeky Observations List - November 28, 2013
4th draft of TH:DOS Geeky Observations List - May 15, 2014
We have been there and back again.
TIME Google Calendar
TORn's Geeky Observations Lists for LotR and The Hobbit
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grammaboodawg
Immortal
Jun 26 2015, 3:52pm
Post #37 of 37
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This is a Book Spoiler that tells more of the story of the White Tree and of Gondor... for a moment of Tolkien-zen. From The Council of Elrond: The Fellowship of the Ring
... "'In the South the realm of Gondor long endured; and for a while its splendour grew, recalling somewhat of the might of Númenor, ere it fell. High towers... ...and strong places, and havens of many ships; and the winged crown of the Kings of Men was held in awe by folk of many tongues. Their chief city was Osgiliath, Citadel of the Stars, through the midst of which the River flowed. And Minas Ithil they built, Tower of the Rising Moon, eastward upon a shoulder of the Mountain of Shadow; and westward at the feet of the White Mountains Minas Anor they made, Tower of the Setting Sun. There in the courts of the King grew a white tree, from the seed of that tree which Isildur brought over the deep waters, and the seed of that tree before came from Eressëa, and before that out of the Uttermost West in the Day before days when the world was young.
... 'But in the wearing of the swift years of Middle-earth the line of Meneldil son of Anárion failed, and the Tree withered, and the blood of the Númenóreans became mingled with that of lesser men... ...the watch upon the walls of Mordor slept, and dark things crept back to Gorgoroth... ...evil things came forth, and they took Minas Ithil and abode in it, and they made it into a place of dread; and it is called Minas Morgul, the Tower of Sorcery. Then Minas Anor was named anew Minas Tirith, the Tower of Guard; and these two cities were even at war, but Osgiliath which lay between was deserted and in its ruins shadows walked. ... 'So it has been for many lives of men. But the Lords of Minas Tirith still fight on, defying our enemies, keeping the passage of the River from Argonath to the Sea.'"
Hobbit: BotFA Geeky Observation List draft #5 1/30/15
6th draft of TH:AUJ Geeky Observations List - November 28, 2013
4th draft of TH:DOS Geeky Observations List - May 15, 2014
We have been there and back again.
TIME Google Calendar
TORn's Geeky Observations Lists for LotR and The Hobbit
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It's time for some BS!
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