Thread by @CptHollingworth

Time moves oddly in some places in Middle earth.

It quickens and flows and pools like amber. IT rushes and flees, and it lingers. Time is... far from a constant.

And time is just ONE of the subjects for #TolkienFriday.

Set your watches, folks...

Today's topic is courtesy of no doubt long-time listener and first-time caller @Joabyjojo, who randomly opined on time and a Hobbit's fondness for two breakfasts.

And was then dobbed in my @DaveMilbo, bless his cotton, Melbourne-loving socks.

"maybe they don't live on a 24 hour clock? maybe that's why those dipshits want two breakfasts."

Was Jorab's thought, and he's kinda hit the hobnail on the head.

Time is not exactly a constant in all parts of Middle Earth.

Through the Ages, time itself has kind of... stretched and changed.

Before the Ages, time was wholly different concept, and before then, time...

Shit. What's time to a bunch of immortal thoughts given agency by God before time even BEGINS?

I kind of see Eru and his spirits, in the moments before Middle Earth's creation, like the Prophets from Deep Space Nine - beings outside of time, with no concept of its passage or its ultimately linear nature.

And then Eru summons the music, the Valar join, and from that...

Eä!

That which IS.

And inside that most fanciest of snow globes, time now runs. Where before all simply WAS, now it has a beginning, a middle, and of course...

An END.

Remember this bit.

The world is made new, the Valar say 'b-bye, daddio!', and the start Project Middle Earth.

Time - as we know it - is based around a number of simple, relatively easily measured concepts. The passage of day and night, cycles of the moon, and the seasons.

In this time, Middle Earth is lit by two great lamps, built onto two giant pillars in the north and south of the land, and in the middle, where their light mingles, is pretty much Valinor 1.0.

Just light, neverending.

The Valar were probably okay with that.

Anyone who's spent time in an Icelandic summer might disagree, however.

Thankfully, for the rest of us, this experiment fails (thanks, MELKOR), and the world is busted, and the Valar try a more secluded Valinor 2.0.

The Elves wake up, and they get given STARS! Not just the random blinkings that had come before, but cold hard points of light, entire constellations!

Even to the Third Age - and now, if you know who to talk to - the Elves revere the stars of all the works of the Valar.

But... still no real way to measure the passage of time.

Given plants and animals are still kinda being worked out, I'm not even sure seasons are properly in sync yet.

Because, at this point, apart from the elves, ALL THINGS SLEEP.

It's just starlight. No blooming and fading flowers, no passing of green things, no cycle of life.

Look, the Time of the Trees is weird, man.

Centuries pass, mistakes are made, the odd evil pact is sworn and before you know it the trees are cactus, the light of Valinor is doused, Feanor's being A JERK, and the Noldor have fucked off back to where they came from.

But remember that song... Wherein Eru, Illuvatar, saw all things?

Now, when the Noldor, even flying from evil deeds, set foot on Middle Earth the Sun rises, and Moon sets in the sky, and flowers burst forth across the world...

At last. Time has a shape that we might recognise

Day and night, summer and winter, year after year.

This is the time that Man* finally awakes, so it's no wonder that WE find it intrinsically right.

(*I am deeply conflicted by using Tolkien's 'Man' to represent all humanity, but whenever I type 'human' in this context it always feels wrong. So apologies for that weirdness)

Anyhoo... the Ages pass.

*wibbly cheap time-passing effect*

But... not all time passes equally, becuase... Well... Magic.

Tolkien's idea of magic isn't spells and fireballs. For him, the magic of Middle Earth is that the world itself is very much its own thing. Older places tend to remember older times.

Thus, Fangorn, The Old Forest, feels oppressive and dark and downright heavy.

Because that's how the Ents remember time before time was really a thing.

That becomes even more pronounced in places like Rivendell, whose Lord can remember when the Valar rode to confront Morgoth for the last time, and who wears one of The Three Elven Rings.

The same goes for the land of Lorienm, where the Lady Galadriel wears the Ring of Adamant.

The power of these rings had always been in preservation and conservation, and so time very much flows out of time in their presence.

But what about... Hobbits?

Well, heck, who the fuck knows?

But I will say this: Gandalf recognised that there was a power in the Shire, and in the people who dwelt there. It's a small power, and slow to wake, but I think it's not unlike that of the elves.

It's a power that heals and creates.

It's a power that cares for the seasons not because they mark the passage of time, but because they mark the round of planting and festivals.

Hobbits love birthdays not because of time, but because any excuse for a pint with friends is a good excuse.

Do they have more hours in the day for second breakfast?

I think they have all the time they want, and no more than they need.

And leaving Hobbits, we come to Jerb's other point. Namely, the classic "Why not fly the ring into Mount Doom with a handy Eagle?"

First of all, HOW VERY DARE YOU

Second of all... Well, assuming you could convince the Eagles to do this (actually quite unlikely, as they're rather more stand-offish than your average elf), the thing to consider is what that wouldn't fix.

And that's assuming that the Eagles weren't tempted to bugger off with it and reorder the world fit for a GIANT RAPTOR GOD.

The One Ring tempts ALL.

So assuming you get them to agree (they serve Manwe, not you), and to not fall under the Ring's power, sure, you could probably dodge the Nazgul, but you'd still need a to land a blocking force on Mount Doom while the Ring force did the deed.

Assuming it all works... what have you left behind however? Saruman invades and conquers Rohan. Gondor is likely still attacked, and will probably fall.

The Ring is gone, yeah, but...

But that's just the practical side.

The other side is that is simply not the story being told.

And I don't mean by Tolkien.

When the Music was first conceived, it sang up unto the very end of all things. Sure, Melkor introduced his own dark and morbid themes, but none could conquer the greater Music.

The whole creation of the music is basically Eru and Melkor talking:

Eru: This is pretty

Melkor: But, what if broken?

Eru: *waves hands* And now prettier, thanks!

Melkor: FUCK

In the first draft of history as it unfolded in Eru's soul, maybe a challenge like the Ring could be solved by yeeting it into a volcano.

I don't know :)

And, you also have Tolkien's own Christianity showing through.

Perseverance, sacrifice, duty, and above all FAITH.

Look, give me the Ring, and assuming I don't go Super Saiyan on y'all, I might think the Eagles are a good idea. Maybe @Joabyjojo and I could go ask them.

@Joabyjojo But I think I prefer a world where the most powerful people know they cannot trust the greatest power of destruction to any but the most seeming weakest of people.

That is a faith I can get behind.

THE END

@Joabyjojo PS - The Fellowship and its quest was also a direct gambit to do the LAST THING that Sauron was going to expect and you can BET he would expect some idiot to fly the Ring RIGHTY DAMN TO HIM ON A BUNCH OF DUMB BIRDS COME ON PEOPLE!@