Page 195 – “…encircled them. Nothing happened.”

What is this? A page of suspense and action? Are we still reading the same story?

What happened to the elven romance novel we were reading two pages back?

Our party can see black shapes climbing into their hollow in the darkness. Merry and Pippin fall to the ground, terrified, and Sam clutches helplessly at Frodo. Frodo, feeling the same fear, has a desire to put the ring on. Without much of a fight, he does so, and can see under the black riders’ robes. They are grey, gnarled old men, and the tallest and most frightening is coming his way. The lead Ringwraith springs at Frodo, and our hero cries out the name of Elbereth Gilthoniel.

Where is Aragorn? What is he doing to help? Uh…I don’t know. He’s plotting. Let’s say that he’s plotting something. But only because we like him.

Here’s where you realize that we’ve caught back on to the movie plot. That entire beginning to this chapter, with the four hobbits and Aragorn plodding along through forest and marsh? Totally just a montage in the film. This page and the next, which is only a short portion of a page to end the chapter, cover this entire attack, which the movie focuses on. It’s because we, as a society, like action.

It is for precisely this reason that Sylvester Stallone has a career.

We want to draw out the sequence where the Ringwraiths bear down on Frodo. It’s exciting. Hell, let’s place it on Weathertop to add something to the setting. Here in the book, we’re in like a little dip on the hillside. Not grand enough for Hollywood.

However, it is for this sudden shift that this book is genius. There’s the backstory. We’ve been over that. Tolkien poured most of his life’s work into creating a full history for Middle-earth.  Then, all of a sudden, we have a driving moment of action. And both are good. We want to read both parts, not just skim whatever we find uninteresting.

At least, well, I want to read both parts. Maybe I shouldn’t speak for everyone. Sorry.

End of this chapter tomorrow!

“At that moment Frodo threw himself forward on the ground, and he heard himself crying aloud: O Elbereth! Gilthoniel! At the same…”

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Page 194 – “‘…from the world, so that she might follow him…'”

Blog. Blog blog blog. Bloggy blog blog.

On some days, this may get tedious. I’m trying to stave that off for as long as I can.

ONWARD!

Aragorn finishes the backstory of the song, adding that the line of descendants from Beren and Tinúviel runs all the way down through Elrond. Aragorn is very passionate about this. The hobbits watch him closely, and he ends his speech. The moon rises, and Sam and Merry trot off to stretch their legs. Frodo begins to fear the night, and just then Sam comes running back, having had a similar feeling. Merry returns as well, thinking that he saw black shapes advancing towards them. Aragorn commands them to take long sticks, and sit with their backs to the fire.

First Mentions:

-Dior: Beren and Lúthien Tinúviel’s son. Heir to Thingol.

-Elwing the White: Daughter of Dior. Wife of…

-Eärendil: Great seafaring man. Very important in the history of Middle-earth. Fathered Elrond with Elwing.

-Númenor: Island kingdom of men in the middle of the great sea. Sunk long ago, forcing many men to come to Middle-earth.

So, what is important about the story of Beren and Tinúviel is their bloodline. As the ancestors of Elrond, they are also then the ancestors of Arwen, whom Aragorn loves. Also, Beren and Tinúviel are distant ancestors of Aragorn himself. Their granddaughter, Elwing, had two sons with Eärendil. One was Elrond, and the other, Elros, was the forefather of the line of kings that eventually led to Aragorn. So, yes, Aragorn and Arwen are vaguely related.

Don't worry. It's totally not awkward at all.

But wait, there’s actually something exciting happening! The black riders are approaching, or so say Sam and Merry, who might not be the most reliable sources. Oh well, Aragorn believes them, so I guess we should too. Besides, this is getting to be a long chapter, and we haven’t hit any sort of climax for it yet.

So, our heroes sit, with sticks. Thankfully there’s a fire. Otherwise, this would be the quickest skirmish ever. Some of us know how well sticks protect people from terrifying creatures.

Dilophosaurus doesn't want to play fetch!

Words My Computer Didn’t Like:

-Elwing

-Eärendil

-Númenor

-durstn’t

Sam says “durstn’t”. I think it means “doesn’t”. I don’t know for sure. Maybe it has something to do with Limp Bizkit.

“For a breathless time they sat there, silent and alert, with their backs turned to the wood-fire, each gazing into the shadows that…”

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Page 191 – “…good and evil deeds of the Elder Days.”

Ah, a night of rest. More or less. There’s still a blog post to do!

Just add blog and work. There I am.

Aragorn is telling ancient lore to the hobbits, and Merry asks for the full tale of Gil-galad. Aragorn refuses, as it is a dark story, and not to be said in such times of trouble. He opts instead for the story of Tinúviel, promising to relay the full telling of Gil-galad once they arrive safely in Rivendell. The story of Tinúviel is sad as well, but aren’t all the stories here? Tinúviel was an elf, dancing in the woods, when Beren, a man, happened to stumble upon her beauty.

First Mentions:

-Tinúviel: Full name, Lúthien Tinúviel. Beautiful elf, and lover of Beren. We’ll get into her story as we go.

-Beren: Man of Middle-earth, lover of Tinúviel. Again, story forthcoming.

So, let’s get to the story, shall we?

Tolkien Songs In Real Life:

Oh, I didn’t mention a song, did I? Aragorn sings the story. It starts like this:

“The leaves were long, the grass was green,

The hemlock-umbels tall and fair,

And in the glade a light was seen

Of stars in shadow shimmering.

Tinúviel was dancing there

To music of a pipe unseen,

And light of stars was in her hair,

And in her raiment glimmering.

There Beren came from mountains cold,

And lost he wandered under leaves,

And where the Elven-river rolled

He walked alone and sorrowing.

He peered between the hemlock-leaves

And saw in wonder flowers of gold

Upon her mantle and her sleeves,

And her hair like shadow following.”

The beginning of a ballad, I present:

Middle-earth Elf pt.1

(American Pie – Don McLean)

It’s a ballad. It had to be done. And here’s the fun part: you might have noticed that the song (today) ends in the middle of a stanza. That’s because I’m just stretching the thing out over the length of American Pie. Not all eight minutes, no, but it scans across verses and choruses remarkably well. So, we’re going to do one whole song. In pieces…

Whoops.

Note again that Aragorn stops the hobbits from bringing up Mordor. Thou shalt not speak its name! It is an abomination unto the lord! But really, I haven’t been counting, but Aragorn cuts off conversations concerning evil pretty darn quick. Censorship? Boo, censorship!

But we like him, so I’ll let it slide.

Words My Computer Didn’t Like:

-Tinúviel

–Beren

Um…duh. Was there any doubt about those two names?

More song tomorrow! Because now, I guess, songs are rare. But they’re long when they show up.

“And her hair like shadow following.”

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Page 190 – “‘Is there no escape then?’ said Frodo, looking round wildly.”

Oh, what a day. Chicago has literally turned into Skyrim (minus the dragons), here I am in the middle of another workday/rehearsal marathon, and to top it all off I have what is, more or less, a zit inside my eyelid. It hurts every time I blink.

It's called a sty, but don't expect me to show a picture of what it actually looks like.

So, today’s action. Aragorn proposes using the firewood nearby to their advantage. Ringwraiths aren’t particularly fond of fire. In the meantime, he and the hobbits set up a fire in a sheltered part of the hollow. They worry about their food stores lasting for the next two weeks or longer, especially worrisome on this lonesome stretch of road. As the hobbits huddle together, Aragorn begins to tell stories and legends.

The point of worrying about food is that most of the lands are barren from here on out. Birds and other animals are around, but hunting and preparing food takes time. Aragorn doesn’t want to waste time doing that when they should be hurrying along. The only travelers they may run into are going to be too concerned with their own business to care to help, so they’re truly on their own. Seriously, Bear Grylls would come in handy here!

Who knows what it is...it doesn't matter. It will still go in his mouth.

How about a little fire, Ringwraith?

This was coming, sooner or later.

Times are good now, as we listen to stories by the fire. But that fire is their weapon against the black riders, and they’re on their way. Sam correctly states that the fire will be a signal to the riders just as much as it could help our heroes. The riders are only coming faster now.

“He knew many histories and legends of long ago, of Elves and Men and the…”

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Page 189 – “‘It is just as I feared,’ he said, when he came back.”

Well, this is fun. My computer’s having connectivity issues at the little market I try to write these at when I’m caught between work and rehearsal. No internet, but I still have the burning desire to get this out of the way. Thus, what you’re reading now is what I wrote offline, and have since uploaded onto the blog. Maybe with minor edits.

But you will never know for sure...

Regardless, we have a page of Lord of the Rings to talk about.

Aragorn checks out the encampment that Sam and Pippin happened upon. He can tell that it was made by Rangers, but there are other tracks, made by heavier boots. The hobbits assume the worst, and start worrying about getting out of the hollow that they’re currently in. Unfortunately, Aragorn doesn’t know of anywhere better to hole up.

Merry has a revelation, wondering if the black riders can see. They’ve seen them smelling about before, but Aragorn jumped for cover on Weathertop when he saw them in the distance. It seems, explains Aragorn, that the Ringwraiths do not see in light like we are accustomed to. They see shapes as shadows, but can “see” this way very well in darkness. They smell blood in living things, and emanate fear. And they are drawn to the ring!

They are everything that this guy isn't.

How creepy is that? They do sound similar in kind to vampires, but without the whole blood (technically energy) sucking thing. It wouldn’t take them long to find our band of heroes, especially as night approaches.

But, okay, Aragorn seems to have accepted what we’ve known for a while now: the riders are coming. There are no immediate ways to escape. Five have joined up, and they’re headed this way, presumably to check out this camp that they ransacked some time ago. It’s like being in shark-infested waters right now. You know the bite is coming, but WHEN?

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the banana...

It’s hard to tell how much I’ve really written when I’m not typing directly into WordPress like I usually do. Hm. This is either going to be one of my shorter posts, which I doubt, or a long one. Don’t worry, I don’t think there’s any chance of beating that one post where I went diving into ancient Middle-earth history. We’ll see. Hopefully the issue with my wifi is confined to this market and doesn’t follow me once I get home!

“‘Also,’ he added, and his voice sank to a whisper, ‘the Ring draws them.'”

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Page 188 – “…the Ford of Bruinen, where the Road crosses the Loudwater…”

Hark! In the distance!

Over there! Can't you see it?

While Aragorn estimates that Rivendell is over a fortnight away, Frodo sees black specks on the road in the distance, five in total, two joining three. Aragorn pulls Frodo and Merry down to hide, and confirms that black riders are approaching. They head down to find Sam and Pippin.

Meanwhile, Sam and Pippin have been doing some exploring themselves. They find fresh footprints near a small camp, along with a pile of firewood. They assume that Gandalf must have been there. Once being told of this, Aragorn himself goes to take a look.

First Mentions:

-the Ford of Bruinen: River-crossing near Rivendell. This is estimated to be twelve days away by road. Seeing as Aragorn wants to stay off the road, it will take longer.

-the Loudwater: River (crossed at the Ford of Bruinen) that runs out of Rivendell. It is said that the elves of Rivendell exercise some control over it…

There’s an example of how great a vantage point Weathertop is. Frodo can see the riders on the road when they can only be seen as specks. I don’t know how to estimate distance on that, but it’s a ways. I like to think of how I can see things on the ground from my apartment on the 26th floor. Something like that.

Tell me about it, Harry.

However, bad decisions by Sam and Pippin? Wandering around by themselves doesn’t seem like the best idea. I would assume they have no clue about the approaching riders until Aragorn, Frodo, and Merry return with that news, but this isn’t country one can just go meandering around. Left for an extra hour or so, how long would they have lasted if they riders got to them first? Not very long, I would imagine. Ringwraith wins that battle every time.

Note: Aragorn has better eyesight than the hobbits. It’s a known fact that elves have the best sight, but it also appears that men are superior to hobbits. Let’s keep tabs on it and see if it holds true for everyone.

Words My Computer Didn’t Like:

-Bruinen

-Loudwater

Proper nouns, always with the proper nouns! If nothing else that proves that Tolkien was being creative, if, you know, that wasn’t already obvious. He did write a bit of a book here.

“‘I wish I had waited and explored the ground down here myself,’ he said, hurrying off to the spring to examine the footprints.”

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Page 186 – “The others turned in amazement, for the voice was Sam’s.”

It was Sam!

GASP!

Bilbo taught Sam the poem long ago. There is more to it about Mordor, but he never bothered to remember it because it scared him. According to Aragorn, it was Bilbo who translated this ancient poem into the common tongue. They near Weathertop around midday, and decide to make a beeline for it. Sam and Pippin wait in a hollow with the pony while Frodo, Aragorn, and Merry take a look at the ruins on top of the hill. There is a great burn mark in the center, but no sign of any life. Looking out across the road for miles, nothing is stirring.

First Mentions:

-The Fall of Gil-galad: The poem recited by Sam. An ancient piece, as translated by Bilbo. Not even Aragorn knew that.

Something I forgot to bring up yesterday is that we were given a date. So many days have passed recently that I lost track of what day it was, but yesterday we were told it was the night of October 5th. This means that today, as the team climbs Weathertop, it is October 6th! Do our heroes have plans for Halloween?

Looking good!

Anyway, the scorch marks in the ruins of Weathertop are interesting. What burns that much? A dragon, yes, but those aren’t around doing that kind of damage anymore. Is it recent? That’s not clear.

Regardless of the eerie damage, the view from Weathertop is clearly breathtaking. You can see all the way east to the Misty Mountains, and wide grasslands in every other direction, dotted by occasional forests. They’ve been lucky, as the weather is beautiful, and has been ever since they picked up Aragorn in Bree. Karma? Totally.

Words My Computer Didn’t Like:

-shrivelled

We haven’t blamed the English enough lately. I blame the English!

“Following its line eastward with their eyes they saw the Mountains:…”

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Page 185 – “…ruins of old works of stone.”

Very interesting page today!

However, some other news to get to: I finally got the end of my Christmas presents last night! Why is this relevant, you may ask? My girlfriend finally finished off my collection by getting me both Extended Editions of Fellowship and Two Towers, which joined up with Return of the King to make the full set of DVDs! I already had the first two movies…but not Extended Editions, so they didn’t really count. Also, her mother (giver of the great tome that I read from) gave me four glasses. Two are engraved with the logo of The Green Dragon, and the other two are from The Prancing Pony! They will come in handy. Very much.

Yup.

On to today’s action! The next morning, being six days of travel from Bree, the hobbits and Aragorn come across a path. Merry is skeptical of it, worrying that it might be the work of more Barrow-wights. Aragorn calms his fears, and gives some history of Weathertop and the surrounding area. His ancestors once defended the lands from attacks from Angmar, and built a watchtower on Weathertop. Now nothing is left but ruins, though it is said that the great king Elendil would stand at the tower to watch for the elf-king, Gil-galad. Suddenly, someone speaks a poem about the great life and downfall of Gil-galad.

First Mentions:

-Arnor: The ancient northern kingdom of men. Aragorn’s ancestors hailed from here to defend the hills. Destroyed and scattered.

-Amon Sûl: The watchtower of Weathertop. Tall and proud, though now in ruins. One of the places to once contain a Palantír. More on those later. Much later.

-the Last Alliance: Union of elves and men who resisted Sauron in a great war long ago. The conflict ended when Isildur cut the ring from Sauron’s hand with Elendil’s broken sword.

I thought Gil-galad was going to be a First Mention… Nope. We’ve talked about him a bit already.

But don’t worry, we’re going to talk about him again!

You didn't know he was in the movies, did you?

The poem spoken at the end of this page is gorgeous. We don’t learn the speaker (we will tomorrow), but it tells the sad tale of the elven king. He was great, but fell in the battle against Sauron. “For into darkness fell his star,” the poem states. Pretty stuff, if I do say so myself. “In Mordor where the shadows are,” it ends. Does every dark poem end with a line about Mordor and its shadows? The final line of the poem containing the ring inscription is “In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.” That’s two! I’m sensing a pattern.

The poem really dominates in how I view this page. I find it very beautiful, and after highlighting it I can’t really bring myself to say much else. The brief history lesson from Aragorn is nice, and goes a ways to show how he connects with his kingly lineage. He won’t say it, but when he brings up Elendil he’s talking about his great-great-great…etc. grandfather.

Words My Computer Didn’t Like:

-barrow-wightish

-Sûl

–dwelleth

Yes, “barrow-wightish”, meaning kind of like the same feeling as a Barrow-wight. You know, generally creepy?

“But long ago he rode away, and where he dwelleth none can say; for into darkness fell his star in Mordor where the shadows are.”

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Page 184 – “The hobbits looked anxiously at the distant hills.”

After last night’s sleepiness debacle, I’ve devised a new way to fit this into my schedule on busy days. I have some downtime now, and thus, BLOG! I’m doing this in marketplace. Isn’t that terribly hipster and bourgeois of me, to blog in a marketplace?

Sort of like this. But I have my own computer.

Aragorn has a plan to skirt around Weathertop a bit and arrive from the north, where there is more cover under the trees. They make camp for the night near a stream, and the hobbits awake feeling very rested the next morning. Pippin jokes that Frodo looks much better with the rest, though Frodo knows that he has lost a lot of weight so far on their journey. As they move on, the hills (including Weathertop) draw closer and closer.

So, there’s really not a whole lot going on. About his weight loss, Frodo offhandedly says: “I hope the thinning process will not go on indefinitely, or I shall become a wraith.” Aragorn snaps at him suddenly, begging him not to joke of this. A little touchy there, Son of Arathorn? Here’s the thing: he has a point. We’ve already heard about using magic rings to such an extent that mortals turn into wraiths. We’re also going to hear a lot about the properties of evil blades…

Which looks more evil: the sword or the dude? Discuss.

All in all, Aragorn’s plan makes a lot of sense. He doesn’t know what will be waiting for them at Weathertop, so increasing the amount of time that they can’t be seen approaching it is all for the better. He mentioned earlier that as soon as they broke into view of the hilltop, they could be seen in the open by anyone looking out from Weathertop itself. It’s very well placed for that sort of thing.

Words My Computer Didn’t Like:

-vapours

With that, I’ve run out of things to say already. It’s just another page of them getting from Point A to Point B. Not exciting, but they’ll happen from time to time. I wasn’t planning on skipping anything.

“Along the crest of the ridge the hobbits could see what looked to be the remains of green-grown walls and dikes, and in the clefts there still stood the…”

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Page 183 – “Their camping-place was damp, cold, and uncomfortable…”

It is WAY too tired in here to do much tonight. I have a handful of really long days in the next few weeks ahead of me, but we’re going to get through them.

Together!

Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, and Aragorn make an uncomfortable camp in the marshes. With bugs everywhere, it’s a restless night, and the next day is much the same. That (second) night, Frodo awakens to see flashes in the distant night sky. Aragorn, always awake it seems, doesn’t know what they are.

The following day, they leave the marshes and can see Weathertop in the distance. Aragorn does not know what to expect when they arrive there. He is doubtful that Gandalf will have arrived, and possibly the black riders will make for it.

First Mentions:

-Neekerbreekers: “Evil relatives of the cricket.” Sam names them so because of the noises they make at night. Sounds pleasant!

Quick hits:

-Aragorn freaking never sleeps. HE’S JUST THAT GOOD.

Things I don't have: insomnia.

-We are first told here that some birds are spies! How evil is that? Wouldn’t you think that all birds would just be happy flying around in the sky all day? Why do they have to go and work for nefarious purposes? I bet it’s all the ravens’ doing. Don’t trust ravens.

-What is this flashing in the sky? It’s white. Honestly, I have no idea. If it were red, it might be a battle or something, but it doesn’t seem to be that. Mysteries of the universe!

Anything else? I don’t know. Sorry. There are times when a boy needs sleep like woah.

Words My Computer Didn’t Like:

–neek-breek

–breek-neek

-Neekerbreekers

It seems we have a common theme here today.

“‘Not all the birds are to be trusted, and there are other spies more evil than they are.'”

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