milliways_bar | (no subject)

Entry tags:

(no subject)

While Gimli deeply and truly appreciates the ingenuity of modern forms of plumbing, sometimes the more traditional ways of getting clean are called for after a hard day of work. Streams are good. So are lakes.

The only evidence of this fact, this morning, is that when he appears and settles in at the Bar for breakfast (blasted human-sized stools; one day he shall craft his own furniture!), he still has the odd bit of drip from his beard. But really, other than that? Nothin'.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"My world was shaped, in its beginnings, by the Valar- you would call them 'powers', I suppose. They laboured to bring forth the world that the One, whom the Elves call Eru, had envisioned and wished to be. But the mightiest of their number wished the world to be all of his making, and would not stand to see the craft of others advanced ahead of his own; and so he rebelled against the others, and against the One. Long, long Ages of the world passed- Ages of lamps, and stars, and Sun and Moon- ere he was put at last out the Wall of Night, never to return until the Last of all Battles. He has many names, though he is most often called Morgoth- the Black Foe- and was once called Melkor."

He pauses, thinking. "He cannot come into Middle-earth now, though his servants were long in the world after his exile. Chief among these was the foul Sauron, who had much power in his own right, and who wished to enslave all the races and lands of Middle-earth. The battle I spoke of, the Pelennor, was against his forces and the forces of Men swayed to his side through argument and cunning."

He nods, eyes wide. He'd heard such a story from Reverend Thwackum concerning the Creation of the world, though never in such a way to make it seem so real.

"And he was defeated, yes?"

"Aye, he was," says Gimli. "Sauron had poured much of his power into a thing of his own making- a golden ring that might make its wearer invisible, or give him the swaying of the hearts of Men and others, or any one of a thousand things. The Ring was destroyed at the very last, and it broke his power forever. His armies remained, of course, but they were defeated in the end as well."

He nods.

"It sounds a foul thing to make. There are of course a number of things you could do with such a ring that might be all right, but in the end you'd be tempted to do what you ought not to do and it's not worth the trouble."

"Oh, indeed," says Gimli. "Thus did it always tempt those who came into contact with it- for the Ring had a will of its own."

He thinks a moment longer.

"One of my companions, who bore the Ring longest on the quest to destroy it, wrote of what happened on that long Quest. While I do not expect you could read the original Red Book of Westmarch, it has been rendered into English. Should it happen that you find such things of interest (and do not mind spending a long time with a book), you might do well to borrow a copy of the translation."

He considers for a moment. He's already got a book from Mister Lawrence for the moment and while the story sounds exciting, he knows with the work and his own galavanting about, he probably won't read it. However--

"At the moment, I won't, sir. After I finish the volume from Mister Lawrence, however, I'll be asking for it."

Because it would give Lawrence more to read to him.

"Well enough," says Gimli. "Though perhaps you might begin with the book that Frodo's uncle Bilbo wrote, which spoke of the finding of the Ring, ere anyone knew what it was. The language is simpler going, I've found," he adds.

.... yes, Gimli used his own canon as practise material for English comprehension lessons. Not his fault the author presented it as a translation.

He nods.

"That might be for the best. The beginning is usually the best place to start a story, I suppose."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only