Daeorn Aldalómë’s post “Vinyath,” (2/3/05 17:33 EST) which has since been
deleted for copyright reasons, included the entire text of Tolkien’s
barely-begun epilogue; here is a briefer description of that 3,500-word
episode, followed by people's responses to the post.
“The New Shadow” is for the most part a dialogue set in Emyn Arnen, across the
Anduin from Minas Tirith, occurring 105 years after Sauron’s defeat; Eldarion
is now king. The participants are Beregond’s younger son, Borlas, now an
old man, and Saelon, a younger man who was a childhood friend of Borlas’s son,
Berelach; he is well-traveled and possibly a lumberer. The third person
point-of-view mostly favors Borlas.
Borlas, troubled by something, talks about the fecundity of evil. Saelon,
noting that Borlas’s own life is pleasant, observes that the older man was
always concerned about the wider world, and recollects Borlas’ attempts to
educate him when the older man caught him vandalizing his orchard as a
boy. Borlas had then called the behavior “orcs’ work,” but Saelon
reveals that Borlas’ lecturing led him to play with his friends at being orcs.
Borlas apologizes: “those who mean well may do more harm than those who
let things be;” nevertheless, he asserts that to destroy unripened fruit “robs
the world, hinders a good thing from fulfillment” and compares orcs to “the
blights and the cankers and the ill winds.” Saelon counters that trees
may see men as orcs, to which Borlas replies with a defense of the right of
men, as God’s children, to make necessary but reverent use of trees and all of
creation—it is a lack of restraint that is a sign of orkishness.
Saelon then turns to what he rightly guesses has troubled Borlas: the
name of Herumor, apparently the rumored leader of plots against Gondor.
Each man wonders what the other knows. Borlas doubts Saelon’s
faithfulness, but the younger man says his earlier arguments weren’t indicative
of his true feelings. Saelon asks Borlas to meet him after dark, wearing
black, to learn more about Herumor, and then departs. Borlas deliberates,
thinking of troubling events in the south, including a ship and sailors lost at
sea. He fears betrayal, but decides he must play out the hand, and
speculates that he may have been spared so that someone who remembers the
darkness can advise against its resurgence. As the story ends, he thinks
he smells “the old Evil.”
As DA says, “Yup, that’s where it ends.”
.
Responses
squire: “The pot is right boiling!” (2/3/05 17:56 EST)
Thanks, I hadn't actually read it.
Hm. Well, who can say where T. was going with it? Or might have gone? But being
written in the same time period, it reminds me in both style and theme of the
"Debate of Finrod and Andreth", about the corruptibility, origins, and fate of
Men. That is where Tolkien's head was in those days - far indeed from the
cheery antics of Hobbits that so successfully jumpstarted his first two
masterpieces.
It is rather shocking to read of Eru, the Children, and the Theme in a
Gondorian conversation. One wonders when that kind of knowledge and thinking
became common in the Fourth Age, since there's no sign whatever of it in the
Third!
Finally, I heard a funny echo in places of the original "Book of Lost Tales",
where heady conversations about the deepest topics also take place in the
evening in the garden of a rustic house.
A "mere thriller", indeed!
dna: “‘old Evil’ in last pg. the Witch-king?” (2/3/05 20:09
EST)
Its interesting that at the very same time Tolkien was writing this ('68-ish),
Harry Turtledove wrote a 4th age Middle-earth 'novella' (never published) based
on his theory that the Witch-king survived the 3rd Age (some strong textual
evidence in both LotR & Letters), and that given the pattern of Melkor >
Sauron, the WiKi would have been the logical choice to be the 'next Dark Lord'
if you will. (Its in the book 'Meditations on Middle-earth' btw).
Might the Witch-king have re-surfaced, then, in Gondor, where he was destroyed?
If one can consider 'inspiration' as a quality, the fact that 2 renowned
fantasy authors (1 very old, 1 very young) were working on this idea
simultaneously, and which dovetails nicely with what we know of Tolkien's
mythological cycles, I am convinced!
Daeorn Aldalómë: “Herumor” (2/3/05 22:55 EST)
I have the theory that Herumor is the Mouth of Sauron who is described as a
Black Numenorean. And since Herumor is a name given to a Numenorean man who
ruled in Middle-earth it's not a big leap. The Witch-king could also make sense
but I like how he dies. One of the best moment in the book for me. Go Eowyn!
And since the Mouth didn't die, at least to the readers knowledge, he could
possibly resurface to form an Orc-cult. Possibly to try and seize the Tower of
Orthanc since his feelings towards it are made pretty clear (to Gandalf and
Co.) at the Black Gate.
dna: “but how the WiKi dies is exactly” (2/4/05 4:15 EST)
Turtledove's argument. He states that since it was Eowyn's ordinary blade and
not Merry's Barrow-blade which finished him off, his spirit may have eluded a
final death. He then cites the LotR text which states, as the WiKi died, that
he "was never heard again in THAT AGE OF THE WORLD" which cryptically suggests
he was able to resurface in *another age* - the 4th? Further, he quotes a
footnote in Letter 246, in which Tolkien declares the WiKi "had been reduced to
impotence" which again is cryptically suggestive. Why does Tolkien, so careful
with his words, go out of his way (twice!) to avoid using the terms 'death' or
'died', etc in the case of the WiKi.
(Interestingly, Turtledove also insists that he was not the individual
mentioned in Letter 292!)
Also, surely the Mouth of Sauron must have perished in the Fall of Barad-dur,
no?
Arathorn: “Nazgul” (2/4/05 7:01 EST)
Were pretty much destroyed when Sauron fell. Their power came from the rings,
and thus ultimately from Sauron and the One Ring. At best, the Nazgul were
turned into impotent shadows the way Sauron and Saruman were, when the Ring was
destroyed. At worst, they just totally died.
To put it simply, the WiKi is not a Maia but a man. Once his physical body is
destroyed in a way or in another, he can't come back. Or, probably, only
Sauron's power was able to bring them back to non-life.
That Angmar was a goner is for me a non-starter; otherwise, he would've already
resurfaced at the Black Gate.
I'm not sure either I would think the Mouth of Sauron could be the new Evil.
It's not mentioned, but I don't see him surviving the battle, particularly
after Sauron's fall (but killing him after Sauron is kind of anti-climactic and
not worth noting). And since he drew some of his powers from Sauron, I suspect
his power overall, and his longevity, would be greatly reduced after the fall
of his master.
All in all, Tolkien clearly said that Sauron was the last Dark Lord. After, it
was men dealing with other men. Able to do great evil, but themselves clearly
lesser evil in intent and power, compared to the original ones. Thus, I'd
dismiss any necromancer-like super-human like WiKi or even Mouth. I'm puzzled
by the "ancient evil" mention, but since there weren't many Gondorians who
would've met any of the true Evil ones, just their minions, it may well be that
the person feels the creepiness accompanying dark cults and minions of
darkness, without necessary having the Evil Overlords behind them. For all I
know, the dark lord wannabe may well be a disaffected twisted Gondorian noble
wanting power and to be king instead of the king.
dna: “yes, but WiKi was destroyed” (2/4/05 14:29 EST)
*before* the Fall of Barad-dur. Again, that's exactly Turtledove's reason for
speculating he wasn't caught in the web of destruction, if you will. The fact
that he was originally a Man, Turtledove also explains... "Consider: The Fourth
Age is to be the Age of Man, with the elves and other ancient races vanished or
much reduced in power. The Nazgul, proud men ensnared by Sauron's schemes, are
the great bane of mankind."
How a mere Man, nevertheless, could return in such a way, is probably the
stickler. But he *was* one of the most powerful Men, and they do have a way of
flirting with '2nd lives' & immortality in Tolkien's world. And this is just a
UUT, after all, though a highly structured one, I think.
Let me ask you about the reference that "Tolkien clearly said that Sauron was
the last Dark Lord"? To what, specifically, are you referring, and how,
exactly, do you feel so confident using the word "clearly"?
N.E. Brigand: “Is the date wrong?” (2/3/05 20:25 EST)
Didn't Aragorn live for 120 years after Sauron's fall? How much younger than
Bergil is Borlas, I wonder.
Thanks for posting this tale-fragment; I'd never read it. It's a fascinating
start, though long-winded at points. And it inspires lots of questions.
Can anyone shed light on the names: Borlas, Saelon, Herumor, Berelach,
Othrondir? Neldor means "beech," right?
Did Tolkien write this all at a go, or was there any revision? Does anyone have
any guesses on where it might lead, thematically if not plotwise? Do you think
Tolkien did? Already there is the theme of how evil can arise amid happiness,
and there is a definite tree-motif. Curious will be happy to see the weather
given some thought: the East wind bringing clouds and the apparent
non-occurrence of storms on Gondor's coast in Elessar's reign.
Very interesting.
Daeorn Aldalómë: “The notes have answers.” (2/3/05 23:23
EST)
Yeah in the notes for this story the date is discussed. It gets confusing
because Tolkien kept switching the death-date of Aragorn around and also when
this new story took place. In the First Edition of the The Lord of the
Rings Aragorn's death was placed twenty years earlier, Fourth Age 100.
Borlas (bor = hand; las = leaf). This was a name for an
Easterling in early versions of The Silmarillion changed to
Borlad in the final text.
Saelon. In Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth the name Saelin
appears meaning "Wise-heart". Do with that what you will.
Herumor (heru = lord; mor = dark).
Berelach (bere = a Manish root found in Beren and
Bereg [possibly a male version of bereth = queen?]; lach =
leaping flame).
Othrondir. Got me. My guess. oth (a form of ost) =
fortress; rond = dome/vaulted; dir = gaze/watcher. The Watcher of
the Dome Fortress.
Neldor = beech.
Like I've said before I think Herumor would have been the Mouth of Sauron
resurfaced and trying to rise in power. Again, my guess.
squire: “That’s pretty crude” (2/3/05 23:52 EST)
I didn't have a guess what "herumor" might have meant. Now you say it means
"dark lord" in what, Elvish?
Isn't that kind of -- OBVIOUS -- to the average educated Gondorian?
Tolkien indulges in a lot of Elvish in LotR, but never does he make the action
of the plot dependent on the reader's, or a character's, knowledge of Elvish.
(The pun on "Mellon" is the opposite: it is explicitly explained to the reader
in short time, as part of the gag.) Here, the "code word" is absurdly easy,
like someone referring to the mysterious leader of a dark group seeking to
overthrow the Western world as "der Fuehrer". Gee, guess what armband he
probably wears on his sleeve?
Oh, well. I guess it's not really fair to beat Tolkien up for 3 pages of
first-draft prose. There's just not enough work there for us to say whether he
was on a roll.
But the fact that he himself saw only the beginnings of a "mere thriller"
(dress in black! meet me later!) suggest that he realized he was writing a
screed, not a story.
By the way, does anyone else see a similarity between the kid in the orchard,
and Frodo in Farmer Maggot's mushrooms? Interestingly, having just read "Return
of the Shadow" (the HoME volume of the rough drafts of FotR Book I), I remember
that originally the Frodo character, when caught stealing mushrooms,
accidentally kills one of Maggot's dogs! Which explains Maggot's vicious
hostility to him thereafter...
That, plus this episode of apple-stealing as "orc" behavior (or not), makes me
kind of wonder whether Tolkien suffered some kind of traumatic episode in his
youth involving the poaching of produce!
Daeorn Aldalómë: “The name is also used in the Sil for a renegade
Numenorean” (No Text) (2/4/05 9:26)
Chip of Dale: “Not bad; but it needs hobbits.” (2/4/05 5:57
EST)
I'm only facetious in part. The entry of hobbits, or their like, created a key
of immediacy to the high histories of the Elves and the Numenoreans. It's a
deceptively simple dynamic but one which I think is key not only to the
accessibility of LoTR but also to its actual dramatic content.
Much too much of this opening is a dramatic dialogue that reminded me of Plato;
not bad at all, for that sort of thing, but not the best way to undertake a
sequel to a work both epic and popular.
Ostadan: “Copyright…” (2/4/05 11:46 EST)
This isn't just an excerpt quoted for scholarly purposes. Hate to be grouchy,
but I think this is beyond the pale for a public forum.
Erather: “I don’t see the problem here.” (2/5/05 16:29
EST)
How is this different from, say, quoting a whole shortish poem from a book?
It's the whole piece, sure, but hardly the entire volume. Why doesn't this fit
under the "fair use" rules (linked at the very bottom of this page)? It surely
isn't going to prevent anyone from buying Vol. XII, may even encourage it, and
is absolutely for purposes of discussion.
Lúthien Rising: “whether part or whole,” (2/4/05 16:36 EST)
nothing of this length would pass fair use conditions.
N.E. Brigand: “If DA’s Vinyath post is deleted…” (2/4/05 17:11
EST)
along with the subthread it spawned: I've just written up a 360-word
summary of Tolkien's 3,500-word story fragment in my own words in Word, and
copied everyone's responses to the story into the document, which I can post if
needed.
