As Eldarion turned to the next page, Aragorn scanned the writing and began to laugh with delight.  “Bless Sam!” was all he would say before his son started again to read.

W

I wish I understood as why anyone wants to be a Dark Lord.  First one as wished that was Melkor, who as I understand it was intended to be the Head of the Valar, with help from his brother Manwë.  As the Valar are those of the greater Powers who helped sing this universe and Arda into Creation and who entered into this Creation to watch over it, that would make him almost Lord of All already, right?  So, why would he want more than that?

But, no, not enough to please the likes of Melkor.  What his right job was intended to be we don’t rightly know.  Manwë was given the winds and breath and all to do with air; Elbereth is all about Light, and stars in especial.  All the other Valar have well described jobs.  Why didn’t Melkor give hisself a good, well respected job, like Lord of Restful Nights or the like?  They call him the Dark Vala; was that because he was intended to be in charge of the dark times, or was it because he just went wrong?

Then, they all seem to like waste places.  Melkor, once he took a form and finally decided he’d work as King of all the Mortal Lands, took the barest place there was to live it, working up towers and dungeons as far north as one could get, there where there’s snow and ice most of the year, and bare walls of stony mountains all about. 

But then he was conquered and led away and all that land went below the wave along with the nicer lands of Beleriand, and his lieutenant Sauron decided as he’d be the next Dark Lord.  So he took the wasteland of Mordor, raised the mountain walls, wiped it clean of almost anything pretty what grows well in dry areas, woke up Orodruin, and that was it.  I’m told as Minas Ithil was as beautiful as the Moon itself, a wonderful city when Isildur lived there.  But see what those Wraiths did with the place!  There was still plants and water there when we saw it, but nothing that wasn’t poisoned and twisted to kill or sicken those weak enough to seek anything there to eat or drink, and even the light what it reflected was weird and sickly.

As for Saruman—well, we were told that until recently Isengard was a right lovely place.  But once Saruman got the idea of getting his wizardly hands on that Ring all that went right out the window!  The water what the Ents poured into the place was bubbling like a cauldron when Merry and Pippin first got a good look at it after the dams was built to pour the water from the nearby river and streams into the place to wash it out.  Then when Saruman, or Sharkey as they was naming him when we got home, reached the Shire he intended to turn the whole country into still another wasteland, working on filling all the streams and even the Water with poisons, and filling the air with filth what couldn’t be breathed.  We’re wonderful lucky to have got there afore he poisoned it all!

Anyways, I wouldn’t want to be Lord of All for all the gold as was in Smaug’s hoard.  Too much work, and too many folks as would want me to be conquered and sent away behind the Walls of Night, too!