Mithrandir has a minion!

Gwaihir the Gallowing

A small ring of smoke hangs in the air over the valley, lingering for a few moments before a slight breeze carries it into the distance. With nobody in sight, you could stare at that spot for hours, and still not see the creature blowing smoke rings into the valley; the Elven cloak he's wearing is the perfect camouflage for most environments. Even on this rain swept hill, he can blend into the background, and effectively become invisible.


He goes by many names, depending on who you ask, but mostly he answers to the name given to him by the Sindar Elves - Mithrandir. Literally meaning Grey Wanderer, he can often be seen walking the lands, but is also known to disappear for long periods of time, pulling his cloak around himself, and vanishing without warning.
Mithrandir has been sitting on the edge of this hill for a while now; days, months, or maybe just hours. Nobody could be certain, and he had more pressing things on his mind than the mere time of day.


Mithrandir knew this hillside well, and had purposefully selected this particular spot to sit in, as it offered a spectacular vista of the valley below, and also the distant view of the Shire, where he hoped a certain little Hobbit was not getting into too much trouble. Forcing his mind back to the task at hand, he continued muttering the words that were dancing in his mind. A sudden gust of wind blew them across the valley, scattering the phrase into its individual syllables, rendering it utterly incomprehensible. But Mithrandir didn't mind: in fact he was glad, as that ensured that nobody could overhear his musings. His thoughts were repetitive, like a record was stuck on one particularly annoying track. Mithrandir wasn't entirely certain of the reason he mused, although it was clear in his mind this was a riddle of some kind; something that needed resolving. Mostly his musing was of seven words, but occasionally the phrase grew longer, although it never seemed to form a comprehensible sentence.


The words danced in the air as he muttered them to himself, first in plain language then in any other language he could think of. But they were still fragments, pieces of a jigsaw puzzle he felt compelled to complete, but knew the missing pieces had most likely been thrown out in the trash. The rain was approaching rapidly, and Mithrandir adjusted his Elven cloak to prevent his pipe being affected by the weather. He was of wizarding lineage and as such, had been known to dwell on thoughts for days at a time, but a crease was beginning to furrow his brow. These thoughts were not progressing as they would do normally, but regressing as if there was something in the air that was drawing the thoughts away from him. But that of course was nonsense: the hill was inhabited by the Elven folk, and nothing evil could dwell or even pass through while they remained here.


The rain was falling heavily now, the view obscured by dark clouds, and the lack of light was luring Mithrandir into a chance to sleep. His eyelids became heavy, forcing him to fight the desire to sleep: staying awake was more important; he needed to resolve this phrase.


Eventually the rain began to clear, leaving a cloudy, foggy night. Tonight's moon was weak anyway, but it had no chance of breaking through. Mithrandir fought valiantly to stay awake, but the eerie stillness of the night crept over him as he found his eyes were closing rapidly, and the cloak of deep sleep being draped over him. And finally, although he would not remember it in the morning, the words that had been plaguing him for ages, finally came together in front of his sleep-filled lidded eyes:

One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them



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Credits

Owner: Paddy
Minion overlay: Barghest
Pet overlay: User not found: alphys
Some coding: Ringo & Hope
Rainy Landscape image: deviantArt
Background texture: deviantArt
Name meaning: Tolkien Gateway

Based on: Mithrandir (Gandalf) from J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Any book quotations belong to J. R. R. Tolkien, although Mithrandir's story on this page was penned by Paddy.

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