TIME - February 15 continued

grammaboodawg

grammaboodawg

Immortal
This is listed as February 16 in the appendices, but actually is still the 15th.

February 15th, 3019 (S.R. 1419) (continued)
1. Farewell to Lórien.
(from the appendices)
..."'We have drunk the cup of parting,' she said, 'and the shadows fall between us. But before you go, I have brought in my ship gifts which the Lord and Lady of the Galadrim now offer you in memory of Lothlórien.' Then she called to each in turn.
...'Here is the gift of Celeborn and Galadriel to the leader of your Company,' she said to Aragorn, and she gave him a sheath that had been made to fit his sword. It was overlaid with a tracery of flowers and leaves wrought of silver and gold, and on it were set in elven-runes formed of many gems the name Andúril and the lineage of the sword.
...'The blade that is drawn from this sheath shall not be stained or broken even in defeat... ...Then she lifted from her lap a great stone of a clear green, set in a silver brooch that was wrought in the likeness of an eagle with outspread wings... '...This stone I gave to Celebrían my daughter, and she to hers; and now it comes to you as a token of hope. In this hour take the name that was foretold for you, Elessar, the Elfstone of the house of Elendil!'
...Then Aragorn took the stone and pinned the brooch upon his breast, and those who saw him wondered; for they had not marked before how tall and kingly he stood, and it seemed to them that many years of toil had fallen from his shoulders....
......she turned then to Boromir, and to him she gave a belt of gold; and to Merry and Pippin she gave small silver belts, each with a clasp wrought like a golden flower. To Legolas she gave a bow such as the Galadrim used... ...strung with a string of elf-hair. With it went a quiver of arrows.
...'For you little gardener and lover of trees,' she said to Sam, 'I have only a small gift.' She put into his hand a little box of plain grey wood, unadorned save for a single silver rune upon the lid. 'Here is set G for Galadriel... ...but also it may stand for garden in your tongue. In this box there is earth from my orchard, and such blessing as Galadriel has still to bestow is upon it... ... if you keep it and see your home again at last, then perhaps it may reward you. Though you should find all barren and laid waste, there will be few gardens in Middle-earth that will bloom like your garden, if you sprinkle this earth there. Then you may remember Galadriel, and catch a glimpse far off of Lórien....'
...Sam went red to the ears and muttered something inaudible, and he clutched the box and bowed as well as he could.
...'And what gift would a Dwarf ask of the Elves?' said Galadriel, turning to Gimli.
...'None, Lady... ...It is enough for me to have seen the Lady of the Galadrim, and to have heard her gentle words.'
...'Hear all ye Elves!' she cried to those about her. 'Let none say again that Dwarves are grasping and ungracious... ...you desire something that I could give? Name it, I bid you! You shall not be the only guest without a gift.'
...'There is nothing, Lady Galadriel,' said Gimli, bowing low and stammering. 'Nothing, unless it might be—unless it is permitted to ask, nay, to name a single strand of your hair, which surpasses the gold of the earth as the stars surpass the gems of the mine....'
...The Elves stirred and murmured with astonishment, and Celeborn gazed at the Dwarf in wonder, but the Lady smiled. 'It is said that the skill of the Dwarves is in their hands rather than in their tongues... ...yet that is not true of Gimli. For none have ever made to me a request so bold and yet so courteous. And how shall I refuse, since I commanded him to speak? But tell me, what would you do with such a gift?'
...'Treasure it, Lady... ...in memory of your words to me at our first meeting, and if ever I return to the smithies of my home, it shall be set in imperishable crystal to be an heirloom of my house, and a pledge of good will between the Mountain and the Wood until the end of days.'
...Then the Lady unbraided one of her long tresses, and cut off three golden hairs, and laid them in Gimli's hand. 'These words shall go with the gift... ...Gimli son of Glóin, that your hands shall flow with gold, and yet over you gold shall have no dominion.
...'And you, Ring-bearer,' she said, turning to Frodo. 'I come to you last who are not last in my thoughts. For you have prepared this.' She held up a small crystal phial; it glittered as she moved it, and rays of white light sprang from her hand. 'In this phial... ...is caught the light of Eärendil's star, set amid the waters of my fountain. It will shine still brighter when night is about you. May it be a light to you in dark places, when all other lights go out....'
...Frodo took the phial, and for a moment as it shone between them, he saw her again standing like a queen, great and beautiful, but no longer terrible. He bowed, he found no words to say."

2. Gollum in hiding on the west bank observes the departure.
(from the appendices-no text)
...As the grey boats slipped away from the shore, Aragorn suddenly turned and looked back at the bank, scanning the shoreline. He knew their departure had not gone unnoticed. As he returned to his paddle, he saw that Frodo was also looking back at the shore.
 
I always grin at his blushing, you get the impression that he feels he's not worthy of such a gift, even though, at this point, it seems like such a small thing, a trifle, a little something for his own use.

And yet it will turn out to be one of the greatest gifts any of them received!
 
I don't know if this is what is really meant by it never being "stained or broken", but I always had this image that one would never have to cleanse it, that any sort of blood or grime merely poured over it when touched, that it could never stick to it. Perhaps this isn't true, but it's certainly a fantastic element to think of it as such.
 
imho... Something that Galadriel was careful to share with him that this gift is all about him. About his gardening, his love of trees, and that his gift is bestowed with all the blessings she can bestow. Sam's gift is not about war, but about healing and growing. She knew what he saw in that mirror... and she's arming him for that battle as best she can. AND she's keeping a part of Lorien alive through him with that seed and the dust.
 
Today in Middle-earth.

February 17, 3019 (S.R. 1419)
1. Gwaihir bears Gandalf to Lórien.
(from the appendices)
..."'And so at the last Gwaihir the Windlord found me again, and he took me up and bore me away.
...'"Ever am I fated to be your burden, friend at need," I said.
...'"A burden you have been... ...but not so now. Light as a swan's feather in my claw you are. The Sun shines through you. Indeed I do not think you need me any more: were I to let you fall, you would float upon the wind."
...'"Do not let me fall!" I gasped, for I felt life in me again. "Bear me to Lothlórien!"'
...'"That indeed is the command of the Lady Galadriel who sent me to look for you..."
...'Thus it was that I came to Caras Galadon and found you but lately gone. I tarried there in the ageless time of that land where days bring healing not decay. Healing I found, and I was clothed in white....'"

2. The Fellowship faces the Great River.
(not from the appendices)
..."They started again before the day was broad. Not that most of the Company were eager to hurry southwards... ...and they let the River bear them on at its own pace, having no desire to hasten towards the perils that lay beyond, whichever course they took in the end. Aragorn let them drift with the stream as they wished, husbanding their strength against weariness to come. But he insisted that at least they should start early each day and journey on far into the evening; for he felt in his heart that time was pressing, and he feared that the Dark Lord had not been idle while they lingered in Lórien."

February 17, 3020 (S.R. 1420)
1. The Shire continues to recover from its hurts.
(not in the appendices-no text)
...Though the work of tearing down the brooding, dark buildings that had infested Hobbiton was complete, the frigid months of winter forced them to turn their attention to other needs. There was much to keep the hobbits busy while waiting out the cold season as they restored the interiors of homes and businesses marred by Sharkey's ruffians. Their work was certainly the most rewarding at the Green Dragon Inn. It took several weeks of finishing and polishing to undo the damage; but it wasn't until after testing the kegs of ale recovered from the tunnels of Michel Delving when it was unanimously agreed that The Dragon had been restored to its proper standard.

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February 17, 2007
(beyond text and TIME)
A date that rocked our world! The Anniversary of TORn's NEW message boards!!!!!!! *toots party horn*

In 2011, we had 5,907 -- In 2012, we have 7,439

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consisted almost of pure spirit as he was transported to Lothlorien. It inspires a deep wonder as to real beyond that which can just hint of it, such as the transcendent beauty that is everywhere.
Being again in the physical world he is beginning the infusion of the physical self it seems. And the wholesome essence of Lorien will complete him.
 
Today in Middle-earth.

February 18, 3019 (S.R. 1419)
The Fellowship travel the Great River.
(not from the appendices)
..."So the Company went on their long way, down the wide hurrying waters, borne ever southwards. Bare woods stalked along either bank, and they could not see any glimpse of the lands behind... ...the River flowed without a sound. No voice of bird broke the silence. The sun grew misty as the day grew old, until it gleamed in a pale sky like a high white pearl. Then it faded into the West, and dusk came early, followed by a grey and starless night. Far into the dark quiet hours they floated on... ...Great trees passed by like ghosts, thrusting their twisted thirsty roots through the mist down into the water. It was dreary and cold."


[One of Tolkien's descriptive moments that just sends me away... wonderful! :)]
 
With the great trees thrusting roots into the water - the river through the Old Forest would be similar to this, in miniature!

But the threat is different: not the trees themselves, here, but what they might conceal. Far better that the Fellowship is in boats, than on foot!
 
an 'incubating' medium between the world of spirit (behind thought and time) and that of the physical where purity and a timelessness still exists on M-e..
 
Today in Middle-earth.

February 19, 3019 (S.R. 1419)
1. The Company makes its way down the River.
(not from the appendices)
..."The dull grey hours passed without event. As the third day of their voyage wore on the lands changed slowly: the trees thinned and then failed altogether. On the eastern bank to their left they saw long formless slopes stretching up and away toward the sky; brown and withered they looked, as if fire had passed over them, leaving no living blade of green: an unfriendly waste... ...They had come to the Brown Lands that lay, vast and desolate, between Southern Mirkwood and the hills of the Emyn Muil. What pestilence or war or evil deed of the Enemy hand so blasted all that region even Aragorn could not tell....
...'How wide and empty and mournful all this country looks!' said Frodo. 'I always imagined that as one journeyed south it got warmer and merrier, until winter was left behind for ever.'
...'But we have not journeyed far south yet,' answered Aragorn. 'It is still winter, and we are far from the sea. Here the world is cold until the sudden spring, and we may yet have snow again. Far away down in the Bay of Belfalas, to which Anduin runs, it is warm and merry... ...or would be but for the Enemy....'
......Sam looked from bank to bank uneasily. The trees had seemed hostile before, as if they harbored secret eyes and lurking dangers; now he wished that the trees were still there. He felt that the Company was too naked, afloat in little open boats in the midst of shelterless lands, and on a river that was the frontier of war."

2. Gandalf recovers in Lothlórien.
(from the appendices-no text)
... For long hours Galadriel, and at times Celeborn, would sit with Gandalf as he lay in a fitful sleep. Together they strove in thought against the darkness as Gandalf made his way back.
 
Today in Middle-earth.

February 20, 3019 (S.R. 1419)
1. The days on the River pass slowly.
(not from the appendices)
..."There was little speech and no laughter in any of the boats. Each member of the Company was busy with his own thoughts.
...The heart of Legolas was running under the stars of a summer night in some northern glade amid the beechwoods; Gimli was fingering gold in his mind, and wondering if it were fit to be wrought into the housing of the Lady's gift. Merry and Pippin in the middle boat were ill at ease, for Boromir sat muttering to himself... ...as if some restlessness or doubt consumed him, sometimes seizing a paddle and driving the boat close behind Aragorn's. Then Pippin... ...caught a queer gleam in his eye, as he peered forward gazing at Frodo. Sam had long ago made up his mind that, though boats were maybe not as dangerous as he had been brought up to believe, they were far more uncomfortable than even he had imagined. He was cramped and miserable, having nothing to do but stare at the winter-lands crawling by and the grey water on either side of him. Even when the paddles were in use they did not trust Sam with one."

February 20, 3020 (S.R. 1420)
1. The Shire rebuilds.
(not from the appendices)
..."The trees were the worst loss and damage, for at Sharkey's bidding they had been cut down recklessly far and wide over the Shire; and Sam grieved over this more than anything else... ...this hurt would take long to heal, and only his great-grandchildren, he thought, would see the Shire as it ought to be."
 
being reminded by the line, ...'Sam looked from bank to bank uneasily', that i cannot get a good handle of how wide the river Anduin is up there and how much it widens going south. From Karen Fonstad's atlas it appears a 1/4-1/2 mile across but it must be close to 100-120yards, is the way i picture it, especially at this point in the story.

Is one side anywhere near bow shot from the other side? I am trying to remember if there is such a reference. That would tell us a lot. There were shots when they were somewhere mid-river.

There is the line (when the winged beast was brought down) when Legolas was standing on the west bank: ''There was a tumult of many voices far away...". Sound can really carry on the water at night if it is quiet, close to a mile actually. The river seems pretty quiet at that point. But it is a ways farther south there. Maybe at that point i'd guess at a half mile.

Any thoughts?
 
Today in Middle-earth.

February 21, 3019 (S.R. 1419)
1. A clever waterman; slyer than a fox and slippery as a fissssshhhh.
(not from the appendices)
..."As dusk drew down on the fourth day, [Sam] was looking back over the bowed heads of Frodo and Aragorn and the following boats; he was drowsy and longed for camp and the feel of earth under his toes. Suddenly something caught his sight... ...he sat up and rubbed his eyes; but when he looked again he could not see it anymore.
...That night they camped on a small eyot close to the western bank. Sam lay rolled in blankets beside Frodo. 'I had a funny dream an hour or two before we stopped, Mr. Frodo,' he said. 'Or maybe it wasn't a dream. Funny it was anyway.'
...'Well, what was it?' said Frodo, knowing that Sam would not settle down until he had told his tale, whatever it was. 'I haven't seen or thought of anything to make me smile since we left Lothlórien.'
...'It wasn't funny that way, Mr. Frodo. It was queer. All wrong, if it wasn't a dream... ...It was like this: I saw a log with eyes!'
...'The log's all right,' said Frodo. 'There are many in the River. But leave out the eyes!'
...'That I won't,' said Sam. 'Twas the eyes as made me sit up so to speak. I saw what I took to be a log floating along in the half-light behind Gimli's boat; but I didn't give much heed to it. Then it seemed as if the log was slowly catching us up. And that was peculiar... ...seeing as we were all floating on the stream together. Just then I saw the eyes: two pale sort of points, shiny-like, on a hump at the near end of the log. What's more, it wasn't a log, for it had paddle-feet, like a swan's almost, only they seemed bigger, and kept dipping in and out of the water.
...'That's when I sat right up and rubbed my eyes, meaning to give a shout, if it was still there when I had rubbed the drowse out of my head. For the whatever-it-was was coming along fast now and getting close behind Gimli. But whether those two lamps spotted me moving and staring, or whether I came to my senses, I don't know. When I looked again, it wasn't there. Yet I think I caught a glimpse, with the tail of my eye... ...of something dark shooting under the shadow of the bank. I couldn't see no more eyes, though.
...I said to myself: "Dreaming again, Sam Gamgee," I said... ...and now I'm not so sure. What do you make of it, Mr. Frodo?'
...I should make nothing of it but a log and the dusk and sleep in your eyes, Sam... ...if this was the first time that those eyes had been seen. But it isn't. I saw them away back north before we reached Lórien. And I saw a strange creature with eyes climbing to the flet that night. Haldir saw it too. And do you remember the report of the Elves that went after the orc-band?'
...'Ah,' said Sam, 'I do; and I remember more too. I don't like my thoughts; but thinking of one thing and another and Mr. Bilbo's stories and all, I fancy I could put a name on the creature, at a guess. A nasty name. Gollum, maybe?'
...'Yes, that is what I have feared for some time... ...Ever since the night on the flet. I suppose he was lurking in Moria, and picked up our trail then; but I hoped that our stay in Lórien would throw him off the scent again. The miserable creature must have been hiding in the woods by the Silverlode, watching us start off!'
...'...And we'd better be a bit more watchful ourselves, or we'll feel some nasty fingers round our necks one of these nights, if we ever wake up to feel anything. And that's what I was leading up to. No need to trouble Strider or the others tonight. I'll keep watch. I can sleep tomorrow, being no more than luggage in a boat, as you might say.'
...'I might,' said Frodo, 'and I might say "luggage with eyes". You shall watch; but only if you promise to wake me half-way towards morning, if nothing happens before then.'"
 
imho, the banks and width of rivers aren't uniform. Rivers curve and narrow then widen and sometimes, as with Anduin, develop rapids! So there may be places where it's easy to set up an ambush or throw a rock from one side to the other. And the banks may be rocky and have a sort of beach to it, then occasionally have growth down to the shore or rocky drop-offs.

That's how I've always pictured this river. No one personality and always full of surprises. Sleepy or stormy, depending on where you are ;)
 
it's not hard to picture that the rivers could be as similar and connected as the forests across Middle-earth. All one big forest/waterway(?) at one time?

You're right! Being out in boats is definitely a bargain! Even if it's just for travelling without moving a muscle for a while ;)
 
of an oldie but - er, strange-y: [;)]

"Good morning, Mr. Gamgee. Ah, yes, a little fidgety today are we? Nervous, a bit? That's quite understandable. Please, have seat on the couch over here. Now, just relax a bit, take a deep breath - that's it - and tell me what has been troubling you."

"Well, ma'm, I'm seeing eyes..."

"Eyes. Ah. Friendly eyes? Sinister eyes? Eyes glowing in the dark?"

"Well, no, it weren't quite dark, 'twas near dusk. I was in a boat..."

"Ah, Samwise, now we've discussed before this little problem you have with boats, haven't we? Anxiety attacks and hypertension - I believe we agreed, it would be best if you did not participate in water-related activities?"

"We did, ma'm but there weren't no getting around this. You see, our Fellowship, we had a bad setback, and them as was in charge said we'd best continue by river for a bit."

"An unfortunate situation, Samwise. I hope you have complained to your travel agent regarding this, and please scrutinize your touring company for dependability before making future arrangements. Do, continue."

"Well, I was sitting in the bow of the boat, looking back over everyone, just sort of gazing at the water..."

"Uh huh - not looking forward - obviously in denial of your stiuation, your unwillingness to face what lay ahead..."

"Um, no, ma'm, just a bit of queasiness from the motion, it was less if I didn't watch the coming swells. Anyway, I saw something, and at first I thought that I was dreaming, sort of drifting off, you know when you're half-asleep how your eyes can play tricks on you. But then I realized I was really was awake, and it weren't no trick of the eyes. I really was seeing it!"

"Seeing - 'it'? Seeing what, Samwise?"

"A log with eyes! They were two pale sort of points, shiny-like, on a hump at the near end of it. And this here log had feet, too, paddle-feet, like a swan's almost, only they seemed bigger, and kept dipping in and out of the water. And it was travelling down the river faster that the boats - it seemed as if it was slowly catching us up!"

"Hmm...and then?"

"Well, then, I sat up and rubbed my eyes, but by then I couldn't catch sight of it no more."

*writes in notebook: Hydrophobia causing paranoia and delusional reactions* "Now, now, Samwise, we both know that a log cannot have eyes or appendages, don't we?"

"But...but these were..."

"You've worked with logs all your life, you know that they are not smooth objects, they show all manner of imperfections. Could it not be, that the 'eyes' you saw were boles or branch-stumps?"

"Well..."

"And these 'feet' were produced by the motion of the current against branches at the lower end, causing them to dip in the water?"

"But..."

"Now, Samwise, you know you are unfamiliar with the flow mechanisms of large bodies of water. Rivers contain eddies, and the shape of the river bottom produces changes in current. Your log could simply have been caught in a faster current."

"Well, maybe..."

"Now, now, what you saw was a log."

"But - but I still think I ought to keep a watch out for..."

*writes down prescription on pad* "Samwise, I do think we're dealing with an old problem here. Since you must travel further down this river, I'm giving you a mild sedative, and recommending that you take a sleep-inducing medication before bedtime. You do want to reach your journey's end well-rested, don't you?"

"Well, I do have to look after Mr. Frodo..."

"There, see, you need to concentrate on your duties. Fears and imaginings will draw your attention away from these, and cause you to be less effective. Try to enjoy the rest of your journey. Once you are away from the river, I'm sure everything will go much better."
 
Today in Middle-earth.

February 22, 3019 (S.R. 1419)
1. The Company tries to elude their tracker.
(not from the appendices)
..."In the dead hours Frodo came out of a deep dark sleep to find Sam shaking him. 'It's a shame to wake you,' whispered Sam, 'but that's what you said. There's nothing to tell... ...I thought I heard some soft splashing and a sniffling noise, a while back; but you hear a lot of such queer sounds by a river a night.'
...He lay down, and Frodo sat up, huddled in his blankets, and fought off his sleep... ...Frodo was just yielding to the temptation to lie down again when a dark shape, hardly visible, floated close to one of the moored boats. A long whitish hand could be dimly seen as it shot out and grabbed the gunwale; two pale lamplike eyes shone coldly as they peered inside, and then they lifted and gazed up at Frodo on the eyot. They were not more than a yard or two away, and Frodo heard the soft hiss of intaken breath. He stood up, drawing Sting from its sheath, and faced the eyes. Immediately their light was shut off. There was another hiss and a splash, and the dark log-shape shot away downstream into the night. Aragorn stirred in his sleep... ...and sat up....
...'What is it?' he whispered, springing up and coming to Frodo. 'I felt something in my sleep. Why have you drawn your sword?'
...'Gollum... ...Or at least, so I guess.'
...'Ah!' said Aragorn. 'So you know about our little footpad, do you? He padded after us all through Moria and right down to Nimrodel. Since we took to boats, he has been lying on a log and paddling with hands and feet. I have tried to catch him... ...but he is slier than a fox, and as slippery as a fish. I hoped the river-voyage would beat him, but he is too clever a waterman.'"
 
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