Just a note - Galadriel thinks Gandalf should be head of the White Council - not the head of the Istari, a matter she had no say in.
Laialthriel - You should read the books - much more complete (especially in explaining) than the movies. Gandalf gave an account of the Battle of the Peak.
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In that despair my enemy was my only hope, and I pursued him, clutching at his heel. Thus he brought me back at last to the secret ways of Khazad-dûm: too well he knew them all. Ever up now we went, until we came to the Endless Stair. [...]
'From the lowest dungeon to the highest peak it climbed, ascending in unbroken spiral in many thousand steps, until it issued at last in Durin's Tower carved in the living rock of Zirak-zigil, the pinnacle of the Silvertine.
'There upon Celebdil was a lonely window in the snow, and before it lay a narrow space, a dizzy eyrie above the mists of the world. The sun shone fiercely there, but all below was wrapped in cloud. ... Thunder they heard, and lightning, they said, smote upon Celebdil, and leaped back broken into tongues of fire.
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This isn't the entire account - I have to leave some for you to read on your own!
Celebdil (aka the Silvertine, Zirakzigil) was the peak they battled to. It was near Caradhras, the mountain you might recall from
The Fellowship of the Ring when the Fellowship attempts to cross over the Misty Mountains. It's the mountain they're on when the snow forces them to go to Moria. Both Caradhras and Celebdil were over Khazad-dum.
Durin’s Tower was a tower the dwarves built on/into the peak of Celebdil. The Endless Stair they climbed extended from the depths of Khazad-dum to Durin's Tower at the peak of the mountain.
Also, Aratlithiel:
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Alatar/Rhadaghast seems to be the "kid brother" that the others had to take along to please Yavanna - it's never really explained why she wanted him to go and he doesn't seem to have served any real purpose except to alert the eagles to watch out for Gandalf.
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I'm not sure what you mean by this. Alatar and Radagast were not the same person. Radagast was included by Yavanna for reasons apart from Manwe's reason for the emissaries being sent. It was made clear in Radagast's actions why Yavanna sent him - as one of her people, he was enamoured by the wildlife of Middle-earth and tended to the aspects of the world Yavanna so dearly loved. This was her hidden motivation for having him included. He is by no means a 'kid brother' - he didn't request to tag along himself. He was sent by his boss lady.
Alatar, on the other hand, was one of the Blue Wizards.
[ January 15, 2003: Message edited by: Legalos ]