Linda Hoyland
· 29 October 2006
· Chapter 1: Some Dark Place (Aragorn)
I think this is one of your best pieces yet and you capture the sense,menace of fear and horror brilliantly, I shuddered as I read this.
I feel certain too that Aragorn must have had personal experience of the wraiths.It makes his courage in LOTR all the greater.
Author's reply
For a man as tough as Aragorn to still show some fear at the memory, it must have been a whopper of an encounter; so I thought he had to have known sheer terror, and for more than a minute or two. 'Twas a bit scary to write, too; the fear of being set upon at night, isolated, by evil creepy things, is universal. (too bad Aragorn couldn't have gone about with a pack of wolfhounds; but that would defeat the purpose of being a very quiet and stealthy Ranger)
I'm so glad you liked the vignette. At least Aragorn and Halbarad got to rest up chez Elrond after the ordeal. Thanx for reviewing!
Radbooks
· 29 October 2006
· Chapter 1: Some Dark Place (Aragorn)
Very well done, Raksha! What a wonderful gap-filler. It makes his courage later all the more remarkable when you realize that he had encountered them before. You captured his terror very well - I'm so glad that Halbarad was there to rescue him. :)
Author's reply
I was struck by that passage in FOTR, his acknowledgement that the Nazgul are darned scary and the implication that he'd had a terrifying rendezvous with them at some point in his life. It had to have been a ghastly experience to make grim ol' Strider evince the memory of fear. And yes, he'd obviously grown tougher as well as older since then, tough enough to take on five of the nasties on a dark hill in defense of the scared hobbits. I think the fact that he knew of the Nazgul's presence, knew they were hunting Frodo, might have made it easier for Aragorn to face them, he had time to mentally prepare himself; and he was fighting to defend the others, which might have fired him up even more, still, he was very brave.
Thanx for reviewing; Radbooks; I'm glad you liked the tale.
Nesta
· 29 October 2006
· Chapter 1: Some Dark Place (Aragorn)
This is a brilliant response to the passage you quoted, which has always puzzled me: why was Aragorn in Bree so affected by the thought of meeting the Ringwraiths?
It's a bit of a shock to see an Aragorn so (shamefully?) affected, but it makes an interesting contrast with the coldly confident and apparently fearless man we meet in LoTR. If anything, it makes the latter more impressive.
What were the Ringwraiths up to at the time, by the way?
Author's reply
Thanx much for reading and reviewing, Nesta, especially since I know that Longshanks here is not your favorite Dunadan.
I don't think Aragorn did too badly against the wraiths - though badly frightened, he acted purposefully, and did not dissolve into gibbering terror, which is what I would expect of a still young man of his training and character. I think anyone would have been affected by those three horrors crashing one's lonely campsite on a Northern hill, and Aragorn at least held onto his sanity.
What were the Ringwraiths up to? Tolkien didn't give us specifics, I assume they were hunting Dunedain, or scouting for Elves. Or maybe they were allergic to all the dust that must have infested Dol Guldur, and went out for some fresh night air...