Henneth Annûn Story Archive

Aragorn says, in FoTR, that "I, too, once passed the Dimrill Gate, but the memory is very evil. I do not wish to enter Moria a second time". However, we never learn what the occasion was that first time. What would induce him to enter it even once, if he knew anything of it (as one assumes he would); how would he escape once inside, and how long did he remain in the darkness?

Anyone want to take this on, or shall I relegate it to the Hutch?

 

Anyone want to take this on, or shall I relegate it to the Hutch?

I don't know about me taking this on, as I've never been too interested in Aragorn. He's always seemed a bit Mary-Sueish to me. He's not a Mary Sue, but he seems to have that strain in him. He's just too perfect.

Anyway, on to the topic of hand. Dwim said on the other thread:

but then there's the issue of how he would get out before starving to death not knowing where he was going;

Suddenly I'm remembering the scene in RotK movie where Smeagol and Gollum are conversing, and Gollum says "All she [Shelob] gets is orcs." To which Smeagol replies "And they doesn't taste very good, precious." Come to think of it, that could actually be an answer. Aragorn gets lost and is reduced to eating orcs. He'd probably starve first, I suppose, but that would be awfully selfish of him.

it also is problematic if his enemies are Orcs and would have no reason to really fear entering Moria--they could just keep chasing him or, if they preferred, camp out and prevent him from coming out for food).

We're assuming it's orcs that chasing him, and I'm not sure that need be the case. Wargs, perhaps, or some other less sentient creature?

This is to assume we want to keep Aragorn the pristine would-be-king figure. Who's to say Elrond didn't catch him and Arwen in a pre-marital tryst and all the Elves of Imladris are trying to catch him. All right, that one's a bit implausible because Aragorn has to interact with Elrond later and I can't imagine the incident would never come up. But something like that, where he's being chased not by orcs or the like but by angry villagers.

Marta

 

 

Wargs might be an option, but it still isn't clear that, given their alliance of sorts with Orcs of the Misty Mountains, that they would be deterred from entering Moria after him. Trolls? They love dark places. Villagers might work, especially Dunlendings, but if they were worried about Moria, they could still ring the area and prevent him from escaping for awhile until they figured either the Evil Within got him, or starvation had occurred. I'm just not one of those people who likes her villains to laugh and say, "Oh, well, he went in *there*? Game's up, guys, he's toast, let's go home and drink."

I don't know about me taking this on, as I've never been too interested in Aragorn. He's always seemed a bit Mary-Sueish to me. He's not a Mary Sue, but he seems to have that strain in him. He's just too perfect.

I'd argue that there's a long process of evolution behind him by this point in his career, in which he would've made his mistakes and screwed up royally a few times, but never badly enough to get himself killed or disgraced. Hence the interest in his earlier years, when he would've been absorbing the lessons that'd make him a king rather than being a king. Plus, mediaeval warfare=not nice. If we think he didn't torch a village or two or make some pretty hard, nasty decisions, I think we are wrong and need to look into how those decisions would've been undertaken. Which necessitates constructing them in the first place, which is half the fun, heh heh.

 

Anyone want to take this on, or shall I relegate it to the Hutch?

The particular scenario you've described is interesting and does beg to be written - but I think it's a little narrow for a challenge, focusing on one character. Why not broaden it to those other hints we have of people entering Moria?

There's Gandalf; Balin and his crew; Thror (or whichever dwarf it was who tried to sneak back in and had his head lopped off by orcs) - and you could even take it back to the downfall of Dwarrowdelf if you pitched the challenge as something like: Moria was not always evil, but then it became so - what was it like to visit this once great place that had fallen into fear and danger?

And you could widen it still further by including other realms that were once lovely but became evil or unsafe - Mirkwood, for instance, or Ithilien (oh for heaven's sake, Liz, not everything has to be Faramir related...!) which had to be abandoned because of the Nazgul at Minas Morgul and Sauron's activities

Cheers, Liz

PS - what was the Elven name for Moria before it became evil (or did Durin really call his home "the black pit" on the inscription to the West-Gate?!?)

 

PS - what was the Elven name for Moria before it became evil (or did Durin really call his home "the black pit" on the inscription to the West-Gate?!?)

Originally it was Hadhodrond - 'underground city of the Dwarves'

Lyllyn - who gets even more geekish in the middle of the night.

 

Originally it was Hadhodrond - 'underground city of the Dwarves'

Thanks Lyllyn - I thought there probably was one, but was too lazy to plough through the appendices or UT to find it when I knew someone out there would know the answer. I have done way too much "research" recently for fics to want to do any for casual enquiries. Let us celebrate your geekishness!

 

I have a story in planning that I've considered including Aragorn's little jaunt through Moria in...so if you made it a challenge (and I agree with Liz, that a general Moria challenge would be better) I suspect I'd enter.


,
Elemmíre

 

Good gad people. You already shovel out nuzgul by the ton - must you now add mind-reading capabilites to your repertoire as well??! ;)



I must confess. I am re-reading LOTR right now (I'm in ROTK) and as I hit that part in FOTR, the nuzgul BIT.

Hard.

Unfortunately, it didn't bite with a specific plot idea. It bit with a "hmmm... we must ponder this, precious, yessss, we musssst..." And that's where it left me.

Valar.

So... I would like to raise my hand... although I have absolutely no idea what it would be about.

Yet.

I wish the Muse would be tad more specific...

Cheers!

Ti

 

Mind-reading comes from prolonged association with mutant wraith plotbunnies.

Great, that's two or three people, I believe...?

Think of all the intriguing things you could do with this, folks. The Balin expedention alone would be fabulous—reopening all those closed chambers, trekking through the bowels of the earth, etc.

 

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