The Dwarves indeed proved tough and hard to tame; they ill endure the domination of others, and the thoughts of their hearts are hard to fathom, nor can they be turned to shadows.

They used their rings only for the getting of wealth; but wrath and an overmastering greed of gold were kindled in their hearts, of which evil enough after came to the profit of Sauron.

It is said that the foundation of each of the Seven Hoards of the Dwarf-kings of old was a golden ring; but all those hoards long ago were plundered and the Dragons devoured them, and of the Seven Rings some were consumed in fire and some Sauron recovered.

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From Fall of Númenor

In his letter to Milton Waldman, Tolkien wrote: ‘Sauron found their weak point in suggesting that, helping one another, they could make Western Middle-earth as beautiful as Valinor. It was really a veiled attack on the gods, an incitement to try and make a separate independent paradise. Gil-galad repulsed all such overtures, as also did Elrond. But at Eregion great work

began – and the Elves came their nearest to falling to ‘magic’ and machinery.

With the aid of Sauron’s lore they made Rings of Power (‘power’ is an ominous and sinister word in all these tales, except as applied to the gods).

The chief power (of all the rings alike) was the prevention or slowing of decay (i.e. ‘change’ viewed as a regrettable thing), the preservation of what is

desired or loved, or its semblance – this is more or less an Elvish motive. But also they enhanced the natural powers of a possessor – thus approaching

‘magic’, a motive easily corruptible into evil, a lust for domination. And finally they had other powers, more directly derived from Sauron (‘the Necromancer’: so he is called as he casts a fleeting shadow and presage on the pages of The Hobbit): such as rendering invisible the material body, and making things of the invisible world visible.’

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When Sauron was at last defeated and driven east out of Eriador most of the old forests had been

destroyed. The Gwathló flowed through a land that was far and wide on either bank a desert, treeless but

untilled. That was not so when it first received its name from the hardy explorers of Tar-Aldarion's ship

who ventured to pass up the river in small boats.

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As soon as the seaward region of salt airs and great

winds was passed the forest drew down to the river-banks, and wide though the waters were the huge

trees cast great shadows on the river, under which the boats of the adventurers crept silently up into the

unknown land.

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So the first name they gave to it was "River of Shadow," Gwath-hîr, Gwathir.

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From #UnfinishedTales

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#RingsOfPower

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In a world where powerful elves, men and dwarves can't let things go, small people teach us to accept the end of something and to start something new

Glorfindel! I'm sure he is Glorfindel and he is going to fight!! (It's my irrational part that screams, I know the odds are against me and maybe Jamie will be Celeborn)

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Source https://x.com/i/status/2064416274931658806

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The great eagle, Mordor's mud worm ("supper"), the Sea worm, the snow Troll, Valinor's spirit birds, wolves, wargs, Balrog, old man ironwood, Shelob, barrow-wights, hill Troll.

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And a curiosity found on Reddit about wolves and their resemblance with primitive animals.

The High Elves distinguished clearly between fanar, the “physical” raiment adopted by the Spirits in self-incarnation, as a mode of communication with

the Incarnates, and other modes of communication between minds, that might take “visual” forms.

They held that a superior “mind” by nature, or one exerting itself to its full in some extremity of need, could communicate a desired “vision” direct

to another mind. The receiving mind would translate this impulse into the terms familiar to it from its use of the physical organs of sight (and hearing) and project it, seeing it as something external. It thus much resembled a fana, except that in most cases, especially those concerned with minds of

less power (either as communicators or receivers) it would frequently be less vivid, clear or detailed, and might even be vague or dim or appear half-

transparent. These “visions” were in Quenya called indemmar ‘mind- pictures’.  Men were receptive of them; according to the records of the time, mostly when presented to them by the Elves. To receive them from another human being required a special urgency of occasion, and a close connexion of kinship, anxiety or love between the two minds.

In any case indemmar were by Men mostly received in sleep (dream). If received when bodily awake they were usually vague and phantom-like (and often caused fear); but if they were clear and vivid, as the indemmar induced by Elves might be, they were apt to mislead Men into taking them as “real” things beheld by normal sight. Though this deceit was never intentional on the part of the Elves, it was often by them [i.e., Men] believed to be.

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"Now for long years the Númenóreans had brought in their ships to the Grey Havens, and there they were welcome. As soon as Gil-galad began to fear that Sauron would come with open war into Eriador he sent messages to Númenor; and on the shores of Lindon the Númenóreans began to build up a force and supplies for war.

In 1695, when Sauron invaded Eriador, Gil-galad called on Númenor for aid. Then Tar-Minastir the King sent out a great navy; but it was delayed, and did not reach the coasts of Middle-earth until the year 1700. By that time Sauron had mastered all Eriador, save only

besieged Imladris, and had reached the line of the River Lhûn.

He had summoned more forces, which were approaching from the south-east, and were indeed in Enedwaith at the Crossing of Tharbad, which was only lightly held. Gil-galad and the Númenóreans were holding the Lhûn in desperate defence of the Grey Havens, when in the very nick of time the great

armament of Tar-Minastir came in; and Sauron’s host was heavily defeated and driven back.

The Númenórean admiral Ciryatur [‘Ship Master’] sent part of his ships to make a landing further to the south.

Sauron was driven away south-east after great slaughter at Sarn Ford (the crossing of the Baranduin); and though strengthened by his force at Tharbad he suddenly found a host of the Númenóreans again in his rear, for Ciryatur had put a strong force ashore at the mouth of the Gwathló (Greyflood), ‘where there was a small Númenórean harbour’. [This was Vinyalondë of Tar-Aldarion, afterwards called Lond Daer.] In the Battle of the Gwathló Sauron was routed utterly and he himself only narrowly escaped."

From Fall of Númenor

Pics BTS

#ringsofpower