returnoftheshadow72

by Miguel

  The text just given was continued in a further manuscript of different form, in which appears the first complete version of the Council of Elrond; but before going on to this, two sides of a single isolated page seem undoubtedly to represent my father's first expressed ideas for the Council. It was written in pencil so faint and rapid that it would be largely illegible had my father not gone over it in ink; and he himself could not be sure in places of what he had written, but had to make guesses at words, marking them with queries. In representing this extraordinarily interesting text I give these guessed words of his in italic within brackets. At the head of the page is an isolated direction that the 'Weathertop business' must be 'simplified'. It would be interesting to know what he had in mind: the only 'complication' that was, in the event, removed was the disappearance of Odo, and it may be that this is what he was referring to. It is clear from the first line of this text that the 'third phase' story of Odo was present.

  Ring Wraiths. They will get (no P new?) horses (in time ?). Odo's capturing explained.

  Ring offered to Elrond. He refuses. 'It is a peril to all possessors: more to myself than all others. It is fate that the hobbits should rid the world of it.'

  'What will then become of the other rings?' 'They will lose their power. But we must sacrifice that power in order to destroy the Lord. As long as anyone in the world holds the Ruling Ring there is a chance for him to get it back again. Two things can be done. We can send it West, or we can destroy it. If we had sent it West long ago that would have been well enough. But now the power of the Lord is grown too great, and he is fully awake. It would be too perilous - and his war would come over the Shire and destroy the Havens.'(10) [In the margin is written Radagast.] They decide that the Ring must be taken to the Fiery Mountain. How? - it can hardly be reached except by passing over the borders of the Land of Mordor. Bilbo? No - 'It would kill me now. My years are stretched, and I shall live some time yet. But I have no longer strength for the Ring.' Frodo volunteers to go. Who shall go with him? Gandalf. Trotter. Sam. Odo. Folco. Merry. (7) Glorfindel and Frar [written beneath: Burin] son of Balin. South along mountains. Over the Red Pass down the Red way to the Great River. 'Beware!' said Gandalf 'of the Giant Treebeard, who haunts the Forest between the River and the South Mts.' Fangorn? After a time of rest they set out. Bilbo bids farewell; gives him Sting and his armour. The others are armed. Snow storm.

  The reverse of the page, while not continuous with the first side, was certainly written at the same time, and is again in ink over faint pencil:

  First he was asked to give as complete an account of the journey as possible. The story of their dealings with Tom Bombadil seemed to interest Elrond and Gandalf most. Much that was said was now known already to Frodo. Gandalf spoke long, making clear to all the history of the Ring, and the reason why the Dark Lord so greatly desired it. 'For not only does he desire to discover and control the lost rings, those of the Elves and dwarves - but without the Ring he is still shorn of much power. He put into that Ring much of his own power, and without it is weaker than of old [and obliged to lean more on servants].(11) Of old he could guess or half see what were the hidden purposes of the Elflords, but now he is blind as far as they are concerned. He cannot make rings until he has regained the master ring. And also his mind is moved by revenge and hatred of the Elves and Men that (disputed him?). 'Now is the time for true speaking. Tell me, Elrond, if the Three Rings still are? And tell me, Gloin, if you know it, whether any of the Seven remain?' 'Yes, the Three still are,' said Elrond, 'and it would be ill indeed if Sauron should discover where they be, or have power over their rulers; for then perhaps his shadow would stretch even to the Blessed Realm.'

  'Yes! Some of the Seven remain,' said Gloin. 'I do not know whether I have the right to reveal this, for Dain did not give me orders concerning it. But Thrain of old had one that descended from his sires. We do not now know where it is. We think it was taken from him, ere you found him in the dungeons long ago [or maybe it was lost in Moria].(12) Yet of late we have received secret messages from Mordor demanding all such rings as we have or know of. But there are others still in our power. Dain has one - and on that his fortune is founded: his age, his wealth, and (....... ?) future. Yet of late we have received secret messages from Mordor bidding us yield up the rings to the Master, and threatening us and all our allies of Dale with war.(13) It is on this account that I am now come to Rivendell. For the messages have asked often concerning one Bilbo, and offered us peace if we would obtain from him (willing or unwilling) his ring. That they said they would accept in lieu of all. I now understand why. But our hearts are troubled, for we guess that King Brand's heart is afraid, and that the Dark Lord will (move?) eastern men to some evil. Already there is war upon the (southern?) borders. And (of course that matter whereof?) I seek counsel, the disappearance of Balin and his people, is now (revealed?) as part of the same evil.'

  Boromir the (lord? Land?) of Ond. These men are besieged by wild men out of the East. They send to the (F..... ?) of Balin of Moria. He promised assistance.

  Here this text ends. Against the passage beginning '"Yes! Some of the Seven remain," said Gloin' my father wrote: 'No! This won't do - otherwise the dwarves would have been more suspicious of Bilbo.' In this text, again, there is an apparent contradiction of the 'August 1939 papers: Bilbo gives his mailcoat to Frodo at Rivendell, and had therefore taken it with him when he left Bag End - a story that first appears under the date August 1939' (p. 371, $2), whereas it is also proposed there that the 'Odo-story' be abandoned - a story that is expressly present here. - The Fellowship of the Ring is to consist of five 'Shire hobbits', Frodo, Sam, Merry, Folco, and Odo, with Trotter, Gandalf, Glorfindel, and the dwarf Frar (> Burin).

  Whatever the relative age of these texts, and they can scarcely be far apart, there have now appeared the younger Dwarf, Balin's son, who had come with Gloin - precursor of Gimli Gloin's son in LR; the Elf from Mirkwood, precursor of Legolas; Erestor, counsellor of Elrond; two kinsmen of Elrond; and Boromir - so named unhesitatingly from the start (14) - from the Land of Ond far in the South. The Land of Ond is named in an outline dated August 1939 (p. 381). Treebeard is no longer placed in 'the Forest of Neldoreth' (p. 384), but in 'the Forest between the [Great] River and the South Mountains' - the first mention of the mountains that would afterwards be Ered Nimrais, the White Mountains; and Gandalf warns against him (as well he might, having been his captive, 'in Fangorn', p. 363).

  The passage concerning the Three Rings of the Elves and the Seven Rings of the Dwarves is to be compared with a passage in the third phase version of 'Ancient History', p. 320, where Gandalf says that he does not know what has become of 'the Three Rings of Earth, Sea, and Sky', but believes that 'they have long been carried far over the Great Sea' - which is to be associated no doubt with Elrond's words in the present text: 'it would be ill indeed if Sauron should discover where they be, or have power over their rulers; for then perhaps his shadow would stretch even to the Blessed Realm.' In the same passage of 'Ancient History' Gandalf says that 'the foundation of each of the Seven Hoards of the dwarves of old was a golden ring', and that it is said that all the Seven Rings perished in the fire of the dragons: 'Yet that account, maybe, is not wholly true.' With the menacing messages to King Dain out of Mordor here cf. Queries and Alterations (p. 226, $ 11 ): 'The dwarves might have received threatening messages from Mordor - for the Lord suspected that the One Ring was in their hoards.' In the same note it is said that 'after a time no word was heard of them [Balin and his companions]. Dain feared the Dark Lord'; so also Gloin says here that 'the disappearance of Balin and his people is now revealed as part of the same evil.' At this time the story was that Sauron demanded the return of the Rings which the Dwarves still possessed - or Bilbo's Ring 'in lieu of all'; in FR (p. 254) they were offered the return of three of the ancient Rings of the Dwarves if they could obtain Bilbo's Ring.

  The reference to Thrain, father of Thorin Oakenshield, in the dungeons of the N
ecromancer, where Gandalf found him, goes back to The Hobbit (Chapter I); but the story emerges here that he possessed one of the Rings of the Dwarves, and that it was taken from him after his capture (see FR pp. 281 - 2, and LR Appendix A III, pp. 353 - 4, 357 - 8).

  The 'Many Meetings' text (extant in two forms) given on pp. 391 ff. continued into the beginning of an account of the Council of Elrond, held in the open in a glade above the house; but from the words '"Bless me!" said Gandalf. "The council is in half an hour"' (p. 395) my father struck it through, and added the note at the end saying that the Council must be held 'behind closed doors' (p. 396). A new manuscript now begins, taking up at '"Bless me!" said Gandalf', and in this is found the first complete narrative of the deliberations of the Council. This was originally paginated 'XII' with page-numbers consecutive from 'Suddenly a single bell rang out' (p. 395). As noticed before, my father at this stage saw all the meetings and discussions at Rivendell as constituting a single chapter, and had given the number and title 'XII. The Council of Elrond' to the third phase chapter which begins with Frodo waking up at Rivendell (p. 362).

  The manuscript is partly in ink and partly in pencil, but though very rough is legible throughout. Being in the first stage of composition it is full of alterations, phrases or whole passages constantly rewritten in the act of composition; and many other corrections, made to passages which at the time of writing had been allowed to stand, are probably pretty well contemporary. In general I give the text in its final form, but with more important changes indicated.

  'Bless me!' said Gandalf. 'That is the warning bell for the council. We had better make our way there at once.'

  Bilbo and Frodo (and Sam [added: uninvited]) followed him down many stairs and passages towards the western wing of the house, until they came to the porch where Frodo had found his friends the evening before. But now the light of a clear autumn morning was glowing in the valley. The sky was high and cool above the hill-tops; and in the bright air below a few golden leaves were fluttering from the trees. The noise of bubbling waters came up from the foaming river-bed. Birds were singing and a wholesome peace lay on the land, and to Frodo his dangerous flight and the rumours of the dark shadow growing in the world outside seemed now only like memories of a troubled dream.

  But the faces that were turned to meet him were grave.(15) Elrond was there and several others were already seated about him in silence. Frodo saw Glorfindel and Gloin, and Trotter (sitting in a corner).

  Elrond welcomed Frodo and drew him to a seat at his knee and presented him to the company, saying: 'Here my friends is the hobbit who by fortune and courage has brought the Ring to Rivendell. This is Frodo son of Drogo.' He then pointed out and named those whom Frodo had not seen before. There was a younger dwarf at Gloin's side, [Burin the son of Balin >] his son Gimli.(16) There were three counsellors of Elrond's own household: Erestor his kinsman (a man of the same half-elvish folk known as the children of Luthien), (17) and beside him two elflords of Rivendell. There was a strange elf clad in green and brown, Galdor, a messenger from the King of the Wood-elves in Eastern Mirkwood.(18) And seated a little apart was a tall man of noble face, but dark and sad.

  'Here,' said Elrond, turning to Gandalf, 'is Boromir from the Land of Ond, far in the South. He arrived in the night, and brings tidings that must be considered.'

  It would take long to tell of all the things that were spoken in that council. Many of them were known already to Frodo. Gandalf spoke long, making clear to those who did not already know the tale in full the ancient history of the Ring, and the reasons why the Dark Lord so greatly desired it. Bilbo then gave an account of the finding of the Ring in the cave of the Misty Mountains, and Trotter described his search for Gollum that he had made with Gandalf's help, and told of his perilous adventures in Mordor. Thus it was that Frodo learned how Trotter had tracked Gollum as he wandered southwards, through Fangorn Forest, and past the Dead Marshes,(19) until he had himself been caught and imprisoned by the Dark Lord. 'Ever since I have worn shoes,' said Trotter with a shudder, and though he said no more Frodo knew that he had been tortured and his feet hurt in some way. But he had been rescued by Gandalf and saved from death.(20) In this way the tale was brought slowly down to the spring morning when Gandalf had revealed the history of the Ring to Frodo. Then Frodo was summoned to take up the tale, and he gave a full account of all his adventures from the moment of his flight from Hobbiton. Step by step they questioned him, and every detail that he could tell concerning the Black Riders was examined.(21)

  Elrond was also deeply interested in the events in the Old Forest and on the Barrow-downs. 'The Barrow-wights I knew of,' he said, 'for they are closely akin to the Riders;(22) and I marvel at your escape from them. But never before have I heard tell of this strange Bombadil. I would like to know more of him. Did you know of him, Gandalf?'

  'Yes,' answered the wizard. 'And I sought him out at once, as soon as I found that the hobbits had disappeared from Buckland. When I had chased the Riders from Crickhollow I turned back to visit him. I daresay he would have kept the travellers longer in his home, if he had known that I was near. But I am not sure of it: he is a strange creature, and follows his own counsels, which few can fathom.'(23)

  'Could we not even now send messages to him and obtain his help?' asked Erestor. 'It seems that he has a power even over the Ring.'

  'That is not quite the way of it,' said Gandalf. 'The Ring has no power over him or for him: it can neither harm nor serve him: he is his own master. But he has no power over it, and he cannot alter the Ring itself, not break its power over others. And I think that the mastery of Tom Bombadil is seen only on his own ground - from which he has never stepped within my memory.'(24)

  'But on his own ground nothing seems to dismay him,' said Erestor. 'Would he not perhaps take the Ring and keep it there for ever harmless?'

  'He would, perhaps, if all the free folk of the world begged him to do so,' said Gandalf. 'But he would not do so willingly. For it would only postpone the evil day. In time the Lord of the Ring would find out its hiding-place, and in the end he would come in person.(25) I doubt whether Tom Bombadil, even on his own ground, could withstand that power; but I am sure that we should not leave him to face it. Besides, he lives too far away and the Ring has come from his land only at great hazard. It would have to pass through greater danger to return. If the Ring is to be hidden - surely it is here in Rivendell that it should be kept: if Elrond has might to withstand the coming of Sauron in all his power?'

  'I have not,' said Elrond.

  'In that case,' said Erestor,(26) 'there are but two things for us to attempt: we may send the Ring West over the Sea, or we may try to destroy it. If the Ring had gone to the West long ago that would have perhaps been well. But now the power of the Lord is grown great again, and he is awake, and he knows where the Ring is. The journey to the Havens would be fraught with the greatest peril. On the other hand we cannot by our own skill or strength destroy the Ring; and the journey to the Fiery Mountain would seem still more perilous, leading as it does towards the stronghold of the Enemy. Who can read this riddle for us?'

  'None here can do so,' said Elrond gravely.(27) 'None can foretell which road leads to safety, if that is what you mean. But I can choose which road it is right to take, as it seems to me - and indeed the choice is clear. The Ring must be sent to the Fire. The peril is greater on the western road; for my heart tells me that is the road which Sauron will expect us to take when he hears what has befallen. And if we take it he will pursue us swiftly and surely, since we must make for the Havens beyond the Towers. Those he would certainly destroy, even if he found us not, and there would be thereafter no way of escape for the Elves from the darkening world.'

  'And the Shire too would be destroyed,' said Trotter in a low voice, looking towards Bilbo and Frodo.

  'But on the other road,' said Elrond, 'with speed and skill the travellers might go far unmarked. I do not say there is great hope in the quest; but only in this way c
ould any lasting good be achieved. In the Ring is hidden much of the ancient power of Sauron. Even though he does not hold it that power still lives and works for him and towards him. As long as the Ring lives on land or sea he will not be overcome. While the Ring lasts he will grow, and have hope, and the fear lest the Ring come into his hand again will ever weigh on the world. War will never cease while that fear lives, and all Men will be turned to him.'

  'I do not understand this,' said Boromir. 'Why should the Elves and their friends not use the Great Ring to defeat Sauron? And I say that all men will not join him: the men of Ond will never submit.'

  'Never is a long word, O Boromir,' said Elrond. 'The men of Ond are valiant and still faithful amid a host of foes; but valour alone cannot withstand Sauron for ever. Many of his servants are as valiant. But as for the Ruling Ring - it belongs to Sauron and is filled with his spirit. Its might is too great for those of lesser strength, as Bilbo and Frodo have found, and in the end it must lead them captive to him if they keep it. For those who have power of their own, its danger is far greater. With it they might perchance overthrow the Dark Lord, but they would set themselves in his throne. Then they would become as evil as he, or worse. For nothing is evil in the beginning. Even Sauron was not so. I dare not take the Ring to wield it.'

  'Nor I,' said Gandalf.