LOTR Read-Along: The Two Towers: The White Rider

Now with Merry and Pippin in the complete care and safety of Treebeard and the Ents, it's probably time to head back to their three hunters. First can we just take a moment and appreciate Pippin's mad survival skills that got him and Merry to safety in the first place?? I mean seriously, those two didn't need help at all, plus it proves that little 'Fool of a Took,' maybe isn't so foolish. When challenged and your life and the lives of others are in danger, desperation and survival can bring out qualities that you never thought you possessed. Pippin proved this very well and he and his cousin are alive because of it.

So we head back to the three hunters forever running and gaining on the Orcs in hopes to save the Hobbits. However, due to the work done by Lord Eomer and the Riders of Rohan,  the Orc pack was slain and Merry and Pippin may have been slain with them. While Eomer admits that he saw no Hobbits, Aragorn isn't taking any chances. Clues such as footprints, cut rope, a Mallorn leaf with Lembas crumbs and a broken knife. All proof that at least one of the Hobbits survived and made it into Fangorn Forest.

The Fellowship were specifically warned by Celeborn never to enter Fangorn Forest and he probably has good reason to warn them. Forests, we've found out, are their own lifeforce. They are oftentimes used as vessels for deep magic and dangerous purpose. Elven woods such as Lothlorien and Legolas' home, Mirkwood are also bound by magic, but the power controlled by the wisdom of the elves keeps these forest homes safe. 

Carefully and with great caution, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli enter Fangorn Forest. Naturally, Gimli is freaking out, Legolas is as watchful as ever and Aragorn is still trying to focus on the task before them. However, when a wanderer in gray approaches them, all three are mystified by this stranger. They believe it to be Saruman the White, given the white robes they see from under the old man's robes. The man is not Saruman, but Gandalf. 

Returned from his battle with the Balrog, Gandalf relays to the three friends of his fight and the after effects of his noble sacrifice. No longer clad in gray and seen as the wanderer, he is now Gandalf the White, more alive and powerful and wise than ever before. Gandalf doesn't waste time, now knowing of Sauron's plans for destruction. He and the three hunters make way for the Kingdom of Rohan and the people that will need their help as their beloved king is dying.

It's good and relieving in many ways to see Gandalf again.  Aragorn has done a remarkable job with getting the Fellowship to safety and continues to pursue Merry and Pippin's whereabouts, he has proven to be wise, merciful and steadfast in his role as a leader. Something that Gandalf has brought out in him with his absence. Gandalf's death to life experience was interesting to say the least. After the Balrog is defeated, he is some limbo of sorts surrounded by supernatural and unknowing elements far beyond man's comprehension. Maybe he glimpsed both hell and Heaven, and then saw a new Earth or Middle-Earth waiting to be born?

Heidi's Questions:

• Do you think of goodness as being perilous (i.e. the two things tied together)?

- The most basic definition of perilous is 'exposed to imminent risk of danger or ruin.' So I believe the goodness can be tied to perilous through the courageous actions of those performing goodness. Think of missionaries in hostile countries or the persecution of Christians in countries such as China, India and the Middle-East. To be a Christian anymore is to face a life of perilous challenges. So yes, goodness and perilous can be united together.