[Lalwendë]

This chapter, at first glance, is a simple narrative of adventure and exploration, where we follow the chase and meet Eomer. Yet there is more to it than may at first meet the eye.

Here we see Aragron's superior skills as a tracker and outdoorsman. I was struck by the way he even spotted orc tracks in a waterway (waterways are well known for hiding tracks and scent), and how he put his ear to the ground to detect movement and sound:

He stretched himself upon the ground with his ear pressed against the turf. He lay there motionless, for so long a time that Gimli wondered if he had swooned or fallen asleep again.

We see the contrast between the skills of the orcs and those of Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli. The orcs leave a trail of litter in their wake, whereas their pursuers are disguised - their Elven cloaks reminiscent of camouflage. They are even able to hide from the Rohirrim, who will be alert after their encounter with the Orc band, and who are also in their own land which they know well.

The second aspect I was struck by was the 'magic' and wonder in the chapter. When Eomer talks with the three travellers, the conversation is a long series of strange revelations for him. Firstly he is surprised by the appearance of the the three, 'sprung out of the grass'. He is then forced to think about the fact that Galadriel exists, who seems to have been a figure of legend to him:

The Rider looked at them with renewed wonder, but his eyes hardened. "Then there is a Lady in the Golden Wood, as old tales tell!" he said. "Few escape her nets, they say. These are strange days! But if you have her favour, then you also are net-weavers and sorcerers, maybe." He turned a cold glance suddenly upon Legolas and Gimli. "Why do you not speak, silent ones?" he demanded.

I can well imagine the suspicion that someone might feel when confronted by an exiled King, an Elf and a Dwarf who claim to say that what you thought only existed in legends is in fact real. He is told of Hobbits and Elves by a King who has sprung from the grass before his eyes. To Eomer's benefit, he is prepared to accept such tales, in fact he goes on to reveal a real sense of wonder and amazement as the interchange continues - perhaps not what we might expect of a military man.

Eomer stepped back and a look of awe was in his face. He cast down his proud eyes. "These are indeed strange days," he muttered. 'Dreams and legends spring to life out of the grass.

Eomer comments on what he has learned from the travellers, and raises a rhetorical question as to how he ought to judge these tales and events.

"It is hard to be sure of anything among so many marvels. The world is all grown strange. Elf and Dwarf in company walk in our daily fields; and folk speak with the Lady of the Wood and yet live; and the Sword comes back to war that was broken in the long ages ere the fathers of our fathers rode into the Mark! How shall a man judge what to do in such times?"

'As he ever has judged," said Aragorn. 'Good and ill have not changed since yesteryear; nor are they one thing among Elves and Dwarves and another among Men. It is a man's part to discern them, as much in the Golden Wood as in his own house."

Aragorn's wisdom fascinates me here. He acknowledges two 'spheres' to the world; there is the practical and everyday world, and also that of the Elves, which is at once very different, but very close to the everyday world. He appears to be saying that it is the duty of men to be able to work and exist within both worlds, and to be able to use his judgement in the 'other' world as much as his everyday world. He also makes a comment about the 'equality' between the different races of Middle earth, to say that all races have the same concept of good and evil.

The chapter then moves on and we see the travellers mystified in their turn, as they camp beneath the eaves of Fangorn. Here even Legolas is out of his element, and Aragorn is unable to offer any explanation for the mystery of the trees. The travellers then seemingly receive a 'visitation' - this passage is one of the most vividly magical in the whole book:

The tree rustled. There was no other sound.

Suddenly Gimli looked up, and there just on the edge of the firelight stood an old bent man, leaning on a staff, and wrapped in a great cloak; his wide-brimmed hat was pulled down over his eyes. Gimli sprang up, too amazed for the moment to cry out, though at once the thought flashed into his mind that Saruman had caught them. Both Aragorn and Legolas, roused by his sudden movement, sat up and stared. The old man did not speak or make a sign.

"Well, father, what can we do for you?" said Aragorn, leaping to his feet. 'Come and be warm, if you are cold!" He strode forward, but the old man was gone. There was no trace of him to be found near at hand, and they did not dare to wander far. The moon had set and the night was very dark.