#Carn Dûm

[negreabsolut]

Carn Dûm, per EllrieAi. [font]

#art #art digital #art artificial #art automàtic #art robòtic #Carn Dûm #Àngmar #tolkienià #fortalesa #castell #foscor #tenebres #tenebrós #hivern #hivernal #neu #nevat #nivós #por #terror #maldat

[rohirric-hunter]

The problem with only doing the main quest in LotRO is the number of Very Fascinating Places that the quest leads you up to the gate of and then sends you off on other plot threads

#lotro #but I wanted to go inside seregost! #Thats what I get for not doing the questline in that area #Which I was told to do but im panic rushing #I will do it I promise but I want to be able to do return to Carn Dûm stuff on my birthday

[seagull-energy]

BUCKLE UP, FOLKS, IT'S TIME FOR SOME BIG THOUGHTS ABOUT SEPTEMBER 29THS NEWSLETTER ENTRY! (this took so long omg, I got very busy) VERY long post incoming.

First of all, the entire barrow scene is INCREDIBLY creepy, but I want to highlight this bit in particular:

'What in the name of wonder?' began Merry, feeling the golden circlet that had slipped over one eye. Then he stopped, and a shadow came over his face, and he closed his eyes. 'Of course, I remember!' he said. 'The men of Carn Dûm came on us at night, and we were worsted. Ah! the spear in my heart!' He clutched at his breast. 'No! No!' he said, opening his eyes. 'What am I saying? I have been dreaming. Where did you get to, Frodo?'

Hey, what's happening here??? Is Merry being possessed by the unhoused spirit of a man of Arnor?? This is another one of those things that is just dropped in, never explained, and then moved past and it's REALLY SCARY.

-

Then, does this line remind anyone else of Macbeth? Specifically the scene where he sees the line of Banquo's descendants. Like, compare these two texts:

The hobbits did not understand his words, but as he spoke they had a vision as it were of a great expanse of years behind them, like a vast shadowy plain over which there strode shapes of Men, tall and grim with bright swords, and last came one with a star on his brow.

A show of eight kings, the eighth king with a glass in his hand, and Banquo last. MACBETH  Thou art too like the spirit of Banquo. Down! Thy crown does sear mine eyeballs. And thy hair, Thou other gold-bound brow, is like the first. A third is like the former. [...] A fourth? Start, eyes! What, will the line stretch out to th’ crack of doom? Another yet? A seventh? I’ll see no more. And yet the eighth appears who bears a glass Which shows me many more, and some I see That twofold balls and treble scepters carry.

Obviously it's not a one-to-one comparison, but the Vibes are similar. (The use of the phrase 'crack of doom' in the Macbeth passage is also interesting, although I think that's probably a coincidence rather than anything else) LotR obviously has other well-known Macbeth connections, but this is one I only just noticed. (I really hope this comes off as similar to someone else and I'm not just coming up with nonsense)

-

As soon as his back was turned, a dark figure climbed quickly in over the gate and melted into the shadows of the village street.

I LOVE THIS MOMENT because reading it for the first time, anyone's first assumption is that this is going to be a Black Rider, but (spoilers) IT'S NOT! What a brilliant little subversion!

-

Frodo, Pippin, and Sam decided to join the company. Merry said it would be too stuffy. 'I shall sit here quietly by the fire for a bit, and perhaps go out later for a sniff of the air. Mind your Ps and Qs, and don't forget that you are supposed to be escaping in secret, and are still on the high-road and not very far from the Shire!'

If only they'd listened to Merry... I feel like Merry's practicality and good sense gets overlooked a lot. In these early chapters his status as 'most well traveled of the group' really comes across

-

Suddenly Frodo noticed that a strange-looking weather-beaten man, sitting in the shadows near the wall, was also listening intently to the hobbit-talk. He had a tall tankard in front of him, and was smoking a long-stemmed pipe curiously carved. His legs were stretched out before him, showing high boots of supple leather that fitted him well, but had seen much wear and were now caked with mud. A travel-stained cloak of heavy dark-green cloth was drawn close about him, and in spite of the heat of the room he wore a hood that overshadowed his face; but the gleam of his eyes could be seen as he watched the hobbits.

Words cannot express how much I love this description (and Strider's introduction as a whole)

-

There is an inn, a merry old inn beneath an old grey hill, And there they brew a beer so brown That the Man in the Moon himself came down one night to drink his fill. [...]

*The Cat and the Moon from the LotR musical starts blasting in my head*

-

And now... the Aragorn list... (my thoughts are in list format because otherwise I will just be pasting large chunks of the entry here, and I've already done enough of that)

what was he doing behind the hedge on the Road???

"I slipped over the gate just behind them." and there's the payoff to that spooky moment earlier!!! It goes from 'oooh a Black Rider might have followed them' to 'nope, it was actually just this dude who wants to help them' to 'OH SHIT THE BLACK RIDERS WERE ALREADY HERE' a little later. Good stuff :D

"a secret that concerned me and my friends" I'm curious which friends he means here. Probably the Dunedain, maybe the sons of Elrond as well? Anyway, it's a fun little note

Okay now I need to break the list format because WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT ARAGORN'S RELATIONSHIP WITH THE RIDERS

'[...] They will come on you in the wild, in some dark place where there is no help. Do you wish them to find you? They are terrible!' The hobbits looked at him, and saw with surprise that his face was drawn as if with pain, and his hands clenched the arms of his chair. The room was very quiet and still, and the light seemed to have grown dim. For a while he sat with unseeing eyes as if walking in distant memory or listening to sounds in the Night far away.

So uh, Aragorn doesn't just know OF the Riders, he knows the Riders. He's obviously speaking from experience here, and iirc this is never expanded upon. What happened between them? And when did it happen?

'[...]I am afraid my only answer to you, Sam Gamgee, is this. If I had killed the real Strider, I could kill you. And I should have killed you already without so much talk. If I was after the Ring, I could have it – NOW!'   He stood up, and seemed suddenly to grow taller. In his eyes gleamed a light, keen and commanding. Throwing back his cloak, he laid his hand on the hilt of a sword that had hung concealed by his side. They did not dare to move. Sam sat wide-mouthed staring at him dumbly.   'But I am the real Strider, fortunately,' he said, looking down at them with his face softened by a sudden smile. 'I am Aragorn son of Arathorn; and if by life or death I can save you, I will.'

Chills. I love him. So much. Also, SURPRISE! It's art time!!

[ID: A digital drawing of Aragorn from Lord of the Rings. He has pale skin and shoulder length dark brown hair. He is wearing a brown quilted vest, brown trousers, a cream shirt with puffy sleeves, and a dark green cloak. He is looking slightly down and to his left (image right). His left hand is resting on his chest and his right hand is resting on a sword belted at his waist. The drawing has dark, blue-gray lighting and the background is a rough blue-gray rectangle. /end id]

Andddd now for one more thought: there is no mention of him having a second sword, which implies that his ONLY WEAPON in these DANGEROUS TIMES is just the shards of Narsil. Unhinged behavior, I love that for him

Moving on from Aragorn now! (although I will have many more things to say about him later)

-

'[the Black Rider] seemed to make off up the Road, eastward,' continued Merry. 'I tried to follow. Of course, it vanished almost at once; but I went round the corner and on as far as the last house on the Road.'

MERRY. WTF. Okay so this is 1) extremely brave and 2) not actually a terrible idea in theory. Trying to find out where the Rider was going and what it was doing would be smart, IF IT WASN'T ONE OF THE ENEMY'S MOST DANGEROUS SERVANTS THAT SHOULD BE AVOIDED AT ALL COSTS

-

[Merry said] "I could hardly help myself. I seemed to be drawn somehow."

FORESHADOWING????? Actually looking at both this and the thing with the wights that I talked about at the beginning of this ramble, merry actually has a pretty strong link with the wraiths from the beginning, which is INTERESTING!

-

Okay I think that's everything I wanted to say. I'm so sad this took me so long to write because now there's been a whole WEEK of entries that I haven't talked about or done art for :((( Weathertop at least will probably get some love at some point, but rn my art brain is telling me to draw the entire cast of the musical so we'll see how I balance things :)

#lotr #lotr newsletter #seagull.thoughts #seagull.art

[verecunda]

10 First Lines

I was tagged by @bryndeavour. Thankee, dear! <3

This is the first line of the last ten fics posted, isn't it?

Shadow March (Kidnapped/Frontier Wolf crossover, gen, G)

It was three years since my adventures, and just a little over two since I had come into my full inheritance, when Alan visited me again at the house of Shaws.

The Washer at the Ford (The Flight of the Heron, Ewen/Keith, G)

The mist came upon them suddenly: no thick incoming tide of sea-fog, but one that fell around them almost like a curtain.

Yellow and Gold (LOTR, Legolas/Gimli, G)

When Gimli and the others had left the Lonely Mountain to attend Master Elrond’s council, the year had been on the wane: the alders and the beech trees shimmering with gold on either hand of the road, the whin bushes on the moors dark, with just a few brave yellow flowers still hanging on, as if in defiance, not just of the oncoming winter, but of the great Shadow that threatened them all.

Leave of Duty (ROP, Elendil/Míriel, G)

She knew it was Elendil even before he was announced.

The Natural Element (The Flight of the Heron, Ewen/Keith, G)

The afternoon sun had burned away the last wisps of mist from the great cone of Ben Tee, and warmed the red granite of the creag ruadh almost to a glow.

Revealed by Night (The Silmarillion, Maeglin/Salgant, G)

Though the evening was yet young, the feasting in the King’s Hall was already at its height.

A Shadow of Despair (LOTR, Witch-king of Angmar, G)

Standing upon the walls of his dark fortress of Carn Dûm, his face turned into the teeth of the wind, the Lord of Angmar thinks — in whatever part of his mind that is yet his own — that his master chose this seat well for him.

Gie Me a Cannie Hour at E'en (Kidnapped, Alan/David, G)

I had come into my kingdom at last, and after having come through so many trials and travails — et terris iactatus et alto, as Mr Rankeillor might have said — I was now filled with a strange, unreal sense of calm and satisfaction as I sat up into the night, contemplating the future that now lay before me.

Reversals (LOTR/Silmarillion, Galadriel & Celebrimbor, G)

When Celebrimbor was not to be found in the smithy, Galadriel sought him in the gardens.

What Watchful Cares (The Silmarillion, Celebrimbor, Lúthien & Huan, G)

The night was far advanced, but one solitary light still burned in the smithies of Nargothrond.

(Heavens, we've been very prim and G-rated here over the last six months, haven't we? XD)

This one's been doing the rounds quite a bit recently, so apologies if I end up tagging anyone who's already been tagged: @di-daydreamer, @cilil, @chiropteracupola, @swanmaids, @cycas, @cuddlytogas, @imakemywings, @m-madeleine, @dilkinazm, @themalhambird, and @sanguinarysanguinity.

#meme #my fic

[katajainen]

'Old knives are long enough as swords for hobbit-people,' he said. 'Sharp blades are good to have, if Shire-folk go walking, east, south, or far away into dark and danger.' Then he told them that these blades were forged many long years ago by Men of Westernesse: they were foes of the Dark Lord, but they were overcome by the evil king of Carn Dûm in the Land of Angmar.

'Few now remember them,' Tom murmured, 'yet still some go wandering, sons of forgotten kings walking in loneliness, guarding from evil things folk that are heedless.'

#lotr #lotr newsletter #strider

[elgaladwen]

Noticed some turtle friends in Sagroth, an area of Carn Dûm's sewers. They just seem to be missing a pizza.

#lotro #lotro screenshots #tmnt

[ceescedasticity]

ERIADOR

Why is the Lonely Land so lonely? There's been some discussion of this on the discord server and I thought I'd try to sum up my thoughts.

But first, ERIADOR:

Base map cropped from Christopher Tolkien's, overlay by me. Long Tolkien Gateway-based discussion follows!

The green area in the west is Second Age Lindon (except pre-downfall-of-Númenor there was at least some more land west of the mountains, thanks loads Eru). Any time in the Third Age elves are occupying much less of this, but we don't know how much less, and there's no indication it was ever formally claimed by anyone else.

Off-red area north of Lindon was Second Age dwarf territory — it's possible dwarves also controlled the actual mountains in what is marked Lindon, but it's not stated. The red dot is the approximate location of First Age Belegost. It should probably be more in the mountains proper. Third Age I would guess their territory extended farther south? There was a dwarven kingdom-in-exile somewhere around there T.A. 2802-2941, but presumably dwarves living there both before and after.

You can see the Shire in light blue — boundaries are kind of a guess. It was established T.A. 1601. And then 'suffered greatly' in 1636 from the Great Plague. Rough start!

Angmar is in gray in the northeast. It lasted T.A. 1300-1975. Angmar's borders other than the south one are not entirely clear. They Grey Mountains are mentioned as the eastern border, but that takes us across the Misty Mountains? Anyway Angmar's capital Carn Dûm is noted, at the end of the Mountains of Angmar. There were supposed to be evil Men living there. Its forces also included orcs.

It's generally unclear what the northern border of Arnor was — or the effective northern border. It never seems to be defined, but they clearly weren't doing much when you get up into the Forodwaith. Too cold. Which is kind of weird when you consider that Forochel is at approximately the same latitude as Dorthonion and the ocean is right there NO I SAID I WASN'T GOING TO CONSIDER CLIMATE/LATITUDE/CHANGING OF WORLD. Ahem. There were people minding their own business up there, especially towards the coast away from Angmar.

Apart from its fuzzy northern border, old Arnor was bordered in the west by (south to north) the Blue Mountains/Gulf of Lune/probably River Lhûn. Then its, uh, southwest border was the coast, and its southeast border was Rivers Gwathlo/Mitheithel/Bruinen (a.k.a. Greyflood/Hoarwell/Loudwater) up to the Misty Mountains. It's not clear whether Arnor included what later became Angmar.

Arnor split up in T.A. 861 into Arthedain (northwest), Cardolan (south), and Rhudaur (northeast). There was some dispute between the three over the part of Arthedain around Weathertop, where Arthedain had the watchtower of Amon Sûl and accompanying palantír and the other two kind of wanted it.

Arthedain had the cities Annúminas (the old capital of Arnor) and (its own capital) Fornost. It included what were supposed to be the most populous regions of Arnor. The Shire is in Arthedain, though it was apparently mostly unused by Men by the time the Shire was founded (even though the Baranduin was previously a locus of population — clearly things were already not so great). Northern Arthedain didn't get hit as hard by the Great Plague. It was at war with Angmar off and on from T.A. 1356 at the latest until its fall in T.A. 1974.

Cardolan had two towns on its borders — Bree and Tharbad — but if it had a capital or notable locations of its own they aren't recorded apparently. Its defenses were broken and its last prince killed in T.A. 1409. After this most of the remaining Dúnedain of Cardolan holed up in what became the Barrow-downs and Old Forest. (The Barrow-downs weren't haunted yet but they were a gravesite, and, like, in the Old Forest? How'd that work out for them? Yeeesh.) There were still non-Dúnedain living elsewhere in Cardolan, but most of them died in the Great Plague in 1636. It was after this that the Barrow-downs got haunted, so presumably the remaining Dúnedain were gone, too.

Rhudaur really seems to have gotten the short end of the stick in terms of both size and kind of territory. Yes, they get to be neighbors with Elrond, but does that really make up for it? The territory breakup would be somewhat more equitable if Rhudaur originally included what became Angmar, but that's not clear, and it's not like that's particularly nice territory. Anyway, Rhudaur allied with Angmar sometime before T.A. 1356. It sounds like they did so officially sometime after T.A. 1349, when the king of Arthedain decided to claim overlordship of the other two on the grounds that they didn't have Isildur descendants anymore, but there must have been some sort of relationship before that. According to Arthedain there were only evil men left in Rhudaur after 1409, and there was no one at all in Rhudaur after 1975; there was 'a shadow on the land'. —Okay apparently the etymology of Rhudaur is arguably 'troll forest' or 'evil forest', which, really? I'm going to say it started as the alternate possibility 'east forest', and the other is a later folk etymology.

The uncolored area between the rivers and the mountains used to be Eregion, and doesn't seem to have been claimed by Arnor at all. Imladris is up at its north end, which is probably why Arnor set the border there, but I don't think there's much evidence Imladris was governing the region in any way. Khazad-dum was still active until T.A. 1981, but there's no evidence they did any governing, either. Not clear if anyone lived there.

Dunland… is Dunland. Its western border is unclear because it's supposed to be a road which isn't fully drawn on the map, and also the road curves towards the Isen in a way which would seem to preclude Dunland's southern border being the Isen? Also, how is Dunland isolated enough to avoid the worst of the Great Plague when one of its borders is the main North-South road? Does Dunland have an effective border of some miles east of the road? Anyway the Dunlendings' ancestors were chased there in the Second Age by Númenóreans and they've been there ever since.

Then we have the nice empty space marked Enedwaith! (Technically includes Dunland.) Enedwaith was not part of Gondor or Arnor; they 'had a joint interest, but apparently the only part they actually cared about was maintaining the North-South Road (indicated by the long skinny thingy) and Tharbad. Most of Enedwaith's pre-Númenórean occupants got chased into Dunland by the Númenóreans, but then the Númenóreans didn't really settle there either even in the Third Age. There were some Drúedain in the marshes towards the coast. Both Enedwaith and Minhiriath in Cardolan suffered devastating deforestation in the Second Age, but in the Third Age were apparently perfectly good grassland. —Technically speaking Enedwaith is not considered Eriador apparently? But I'm not sure what it is.

Okay, what else… The town of Tharbad is on the map. It was founded in the Second Age as an Númenórean fort/river haven, and there was a battle there, but after that was ignored for a while until Arnor and Gondor needed a road and a place to cross the Gwathlo. The whole area around the river convergence was really marshy — it was called the Swanfleet — but it was extensively drained to enable building a proper fortified town, a bridge, and causeways for the road on either side. Tharbad hung on after the Great Plague. It did not hang on after Fell Winter-related floods in 2912, presumably because all the drainage systems, dikes, etc. were destroyed in the floods and the area returned to its natural state as a giant marsh. There was still sort of a ford in the ruins of the bridge, but it wasn't a very good ford.

Aaaaand Bree-land, which probably I should have marked but it's just a really small area around Bree. The Bree-men have been living there since the Second Age — their ancestors fled Númenóreans — and just… carried on, all through the rise and fall of the North-kingdom. (For non-Númenóreans carrying on through the rise may be the more impressive part.) Bree was an active trading town and in the late Third Age saw travelers from all sorts of places! Bree-land was occupied by Men and later hobbits. Noted to be most westerly settlement of Men. Hmmm. Not sure I believe that.

Okay. I may have to come back, but I think that covers it.

Stay tuned for (at some point) "why is the Lonely Land so lonely?"

#a tolkien tag #arda geography and demographics #ardanalysis #reckless application of spackle #only not yet this is the concrete part

[aurore-parle-de-ses-idees]

oh oh, and 26 (Helpless/Motionless/Paralyzed) for anyone who hasn't been plinko'd enough

golodir has most definitely been plinko'd plenty, but this idea was sitting in my head for weeks (and was uncooperative about going into words) so! golodir's no good angmar palantimeloop (more or less)

If he is asked, later, how long he spent in Angmar, he has two answers: the span of dates, and the number of days he lived. The first is easy. He doesn’t tell people the second.

Those skilled with a palantír, he learns, can show many things that might be beside those that are. Sometimes they can show the past, or the might-have-passed.

Mordirith wants his surrender, but Golodir will not let him have it. Not ever. No matter how many times he is brought before the palantír. No matter how many times he relives it. He is brought before the seeing-stone, and he sees:

They come to the Rammas Deluon. The Watchers crush the first ones through. Lorniel and Elegys die beside him.

They come to the Rammas Deluon. The Watchers begin to crush them. Corunir runs after them, and the Watchers crush him, too.

They come to the Rammas Deluon. They turn back. (Angmar overruns the North)

They come to the Rammas Deluon. They bring a captured siege weapon and smash the Watchers to pieces. (They don’t shatter every stone-heart)

They come to the Rammas Deluon. Nothing happens. (Golodir is still captured only weeks later)

They come to the Rammas Deluon. They drive the goblins of the swamp before them, daring whatever presence waits in the stones to turn against their own. The Watchers do not care who they crush.

“Enough of this,” Golodir says. “Surely this isn’t all you have to show me.” (It’s not. Mordirith does so enjoy it, though)

They come to the Rammas Deluon. It works not as a weight but as a prison, and many more than just Golodir are taken into Carn Dûm.

They come to the Rammas Deluon.

(Sometimes, Gath Forthnír is revealed)

(Sometimes, the things of Imlad Balchorth find them)

(Sometimes, rescue comes even to the gates of Carn Dûm- but no further)

“Look into the palantír, Golodir,” the False King commands. “Tell me what you see.”

A stranger comes to the Rammas Deluon.

#ask games #my stories #golodir #ty friend :D #now i have to go find everyone else's plinkos du jour #very much started w 'ok sure if denethor can do That then why not'

[bluehourskyeli]

Then he told them that these blades were forged many long years ago by Men of Westernesse: they were foes of the Dark Lord, but they were overcome by the evil king of Carn Dûm in the Land of Angmar. 'Few now remember them,' Tom murmured, 'yet still some go wandering, sons of forgotten kings walking in loneliness, guarding from evil things folk that are heedless.'

The hobbits did not understand his words, but as he spoke they had a vision as it were of a great expanse of years behind them, like a vast shadowy plain over which there strode shapes of Men, tall and grim with bright swords, and last came one with a star on his brow.

*-*

#lotr newsletter #reading lotr (again)

[theworldsoftolkein]

Carn Dûm - The Capital of Angmar

#tolkien legendarium #middle earth #angmar #fortress of angmar #the witch king of angmar #necromancer #orcs #nazgul #battle of fornost

[queen-scribbles]

12-15 from the get to know your oc asks for Hal :)

12. Is your OC cynical or optimistic? Who or what shaped their outlook on life?

Oh, he's definitely an optimist, lol. He grew up in Rivendell, so you could argue part of that optimism is something of a sheltered upbringing, but he stays an optimist through everything he sees, so it's also a choice. Have to hold to hope bc surrendering to despair is what the enemy want, that sort of attitude.

13. How important are romantic relationships to your OC? Do they prefer casual sex, short flings, or long term relationships? Do they want to get married or are they content with what they have? Or do they have no interest in romance whatsoever?

Not super important, I think. Like, he's not opposed or anything, and he's been attracted to people before. He'd do a relationship, but he's also okay just running around solo with his animal buddies. If he did enter a romantic relationship, it would be a long term one, and there'd probably be conversations to have if his partner isn't an Elf, bc other races have a very different concept of "long term". (Boy's somewhere between 2700-3800 years old; and he's a young Elf)

I think he'd be a sappy romantic and if he wound up with a long-term partner, he would be the type to wanna get married.

14. How important is friendship to your OC? Do they prefer to have one or two close friends or a large group of casual friends? Or do they prefer their own company over that of others?

Oh, friendship is very important to Hal. He does only have a few close friends(Esmeralda, Ziin, a couple Elves from Rivendell, maybe Cele if I decide to put all my Elf kids in the same canon even tho they're on different servers xD), but he's the type to make casual friends everywhere he goes. Also, has his Menagerie lol (I'm up to a truly ridiculous number of pets on him, rip)

15. What places hold significant meaning or memories for your OC? Do they have a positive or negative association with those places?

Positive: Rivendell(home), King's Crossing(likes to sit atop the colossus), Toad Marsh(dancing with Esmeralda Boffin)

Negative: Old Forest/North Downs(almost died a LOT), Carn Dûm/Rhunendin (Lorniel😭)

Get to Know the OC Asks

#gtk oc asks #halthiras

[rohirric-hunter]

LotRO never passes up a chance to make a quest be about archaeology

#Lotro #finally got down and started doing black book stuff #No sidequests we die like men #Actually I just don't have time #I have a pipe dream of being all caught up with the main quest before return to Carn Dûm

[is-it-mungojerry-or-rumpelteazer]

'What in the name of wonder?' began Merry, feeling the golden circlet that had slipped over one eye. Then he stopped, and a shadow came over his face, and he closed his eyes. 'Of course, I remember!' he said. 'The men of Carn Dûm came on us at night, and we were worsted. Ah! the spear in my heart!' He clutched at his breast. 'No! No!' he said, opening his eyes. 'What am I saying? I have been dreaming. Where did you get to, Frodo?'

This part always fascinated me, even since I first read this book.  Merry seems to be reliving someone else’s life, probably the life of the person who was in the barrow to begin with, and the scene before it feels so much like a ritualistic sacrifice. So what was going on? Were the wights trying to make new versions of themselves? Were they transforming the hobbits into themselves? Would it make for more wights if they had succeeded?

#lotr newsletter #lord of the rings #text posts #quotes #merry brandybuck #The Barrow-Downs

[ebaeschnbliah]

Tom went back into the barrow again, and there was a sound of much thumping and stamping. When he came out he was bearing in his arms a great load of treasure: things of gold, silver, copper, and bronze; many beads and chains and jewelled ornaments. He climbed the green barrow and laid them all on top in the sunshine.

.......

For each of the hobbits he chose a dagger ...

... long, leaf-shaped, and keen, of marvellous workmanship, damasked with serpent-forms in red and gold. They gleamed as he drew them from their black sheaths, wrought of some strange metal, light and strong, and set with many fiery stones. Whether by some virtue in these sheaths or because of the spell that lay on the mound, the blades seemed untouched by time, unrusted, sharp, glittering in the sun.

'Old knives are long enough as swords for hobbit-people,' he said. 'Sharp blades are good to have, if Shire-folk go walking, east, south, or far away into dark and danger.' Then he told them that these blades were forged many long years ago by Men of Westernesse: they were foes of the Dark Lord, but they were overcome by the evil king of Carn Dûm in the Land of Angmar.

'Few now remember them,' Tom murmured, 'yet still some go wandering, sons of forgotten kings walking in loneliness, guarding from evil things folk that are heedless.'

The hobbits did not understand his words, but as he spoke they had a vision as it were of a great expanse of years behind them, like a vast shadowy plain over which there strode shapes of Men, tall and grim with bright swords, and last came one with a star on his brow. Then the vision faded, and they were back in the sunlit world. It was time to start again. They made ready, packing their bags and lading their ponies. Their new weapons they hung on their leather belts under their jackets, feeling them very awkward, and wondering if they would be of any use. Fighting had not before occurred to any of them as one of the adventures in which their flight would land them.

JRR Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, Fog on the Barrow Downs

#the lord of the rings #the fellowship of the ring #fog on the barrow-downs #jrr tolkien #tom bombadil #frodo #sam #merry #pippin #movie pics #peter jackson

[elgaladwen]

I'm sure a work emergencies and staring at a screen for 16 hours a day have nothing at all do so with this horrible tension headache I have that feels like it's taking out my left eye and arm with it, but I'm so not going to not stream update 35 tonight, so I may as well deal with the rest of work until then. These update notes might give everyone a headache, but there's some good stuff! See you later on LOTROstream.

[wandering-woodlands]

The Light of Hope - @rangers-are-cool​ - continued from here

✶   ―  “The spirits of the statues?” Tauriel repeated before nodding her head in understanding.  “The watching-stones,” her brow furrowed in concern. “Many watching-stones have been placed throughout the south of Mirkwood, near Dol Guldur, of course they would have their vile guardians posted throughout Angmar.”  Taking several steps forward, she approached the Ranger.  “We have yet to cross one, but it would only be a matter of time.”

Crouching down, Tauriel’s green eyes focused on the ashy dirt and with the keen dexterity of her kind, studied the impressions in the ground.  

“Though my knowledge would appear inept compared to the tracking skill of the Dúnedain, it would seem your missing rangers passed this way not only a day prior.”  Standing to her full height once again, she cast her gaze outward, beyond the rocky cliffs and towards the sharp steepled towers of Carn Dûm which loomed above the mountainous horizon.  The fortress itself seemed to grow into the jagged terrain, becoming one with the desolate cliffs of its surroundings. Its towers reached up into the smoke-black sky like skeletal fingers that could be seen from great distances, despite the elevated peaks of the stone walls that encircled it.  

“I have yet to see any sign of struggle, but my fear for them only grows, as their tracks lead closer to the Witch-king’s fortress.” The elleth looked back uneasily at Hal.  “Do you wish to continue this search alongside us, mellon nín?  They may not yet be lost, and I could not with ease of mind abandon them to torment by the servants of the Witch-king.”

#-- ✶ || thread: rangersarecool #rangersarecool #pocket ranger #angmar