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Old 07-11-2018, 10:47 PM   #1
ArcusCalion
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Silmaril The Hunt for the Ring

This is the first draft of the chapter The Hunt for the Ring.

This chapter uses the text of The Hunt for the Ring from UT as a base text, and I mark the first instance of the main text. In UT, several variants and later or contemporary versions are given, and so wherever these are inserted into the story, I have used a marker.

The markings are:
FY-HL-xx for all the headlines for the Fading Years.
HR-SL-xx for all expansions and changes to the narrative.

Some conventions of my writing:

Bold Text = source information, comments and remarks
{example} = text that should be deleted
[example] = normalized text, normally only used for general changes, as well as changes which are a part of replacement that is not grammatical.
Underlined Text = text changed for grammatical reasons in the process of combining and inserting and removing.
<source example> = additions with source information
...... = This section of the paragraph is unchanged from the source.

Quote:
FY-HL-17 <THE HUNT FOR THE RING>

HR-SL-01 <ORP Now by fortune and his vigilance Mithrandir first learned of the Ring, ere Sauron had news of it; ..... and he sent forth the Nazgūl to take it.>
HR-SL-02 <HR text A
Gollum was captured in Mordor in the year 3017 and taken to Barad-dūr, and there questioned and tormented. HR-SL-03 <HR text D Gollum would not know the term ‘Hobbit,’ which was local and not a universal Westron word. He would ...... But for it, the Black Riders would have reached the Shire weeks sooner.>
When he had learned what he could from him, ...... would thus be led to the Ring. HR-SL-04 <HR text D {[}After his release from Mordor{]} Gollum soon disappeared into the Dead Marshes, where Sauron's emissaries could not or would not follow him.>
Gollum, however, was before long ..... beside the banks of the Gladden.
Now Sauron learning of the capture of Gollum by the chiefs of his enemies was in great haste and fear. HR-SL-05 <HR text B When and how this happened cannot of course .... on the twenty-first of March. [Footnote: Gandalf arrived two days later, ..... journey of nearly eight hundred miles.]
It is thus most likely that the first news of Gollum ..... and that Gandalf had passed into Thranduil's realm.>
Yet all his ordinary spies and emissaries ...... which Sauron held.
Now few could withstand even one ..... perceived and their mission be guessed by the Wise. HR-SL-06 <HR text B {All}In addition, all except the Witch-king were apt to stray when alone by daylight; and all, again save the Witch-King, feared water, and were unwilling, except in dire need, to enter it or to cross streams unless dryshod by a bridge. [Footnote: At the Ford of Bruinen only the Witch-king and two others, with the lure of the Ring straight before them, had dared to enter the river; the others were driven into it by Glorfindel and Aragorn.]>
So it was that Sauron prepared two strokes ..... These things were done towards the end of June 3018. HR-SL-07 <HR text B In the panic of the first assault, when the Witch-king was allowed to reveal himself briefly in his full terror, the Nazgūl crossed the bridge at night and dispersed northwards.> Thus Sauron tested the strength and preparedness of Denethor, ..... his policy of war against Gondor.
Therefore when Osgiliath was taken .... abode in Dol Guldur as Sauron's lieutenant, with HR-SL-08 {one other}two others as his messengers. <From Note 1: [Footnote: {From notes counting in detail the movements of the Black Riders in the Shire it emerges that it}It was Khamūl who came to Hobbiton and spoke to Gaffer Gamgee, who followed the Hobbits along the road to Stock, and who narrowly missed them at the Bucklebury Ferry {(see p.360)}. The Rider who accompanied him, whom he summoned by cries on the ridge above Woodhall, and with whom he visited Farmer Maggot, was {"}one of his companions from Dol Guldur.{"} Of Khamūl it is said {here} that he was the most ready of all the Nazgūl after the Black Captain himself, to perceive the presence of the Ring, but also the one whose power was most confused and diminished by daylight.]>
The Lord of Morgul therefore led his ..... seeking for the Shire, the land of the Halflings.

HR-SL-09 <HR It seems clear that pursued both by Elves and Orcs Gollum .... after which all trace of him was lost.
What then happened to Gollum cannot of course ...... for Gollum that the Nine Walkers arrived when they did.>

About the twenty-second of July HR-SL-10 {they}the Ringwraiths met their ....... learn any news that availed them.
At length they returned; but the summer ..... and secrecy must be abandoned.
The Ringwraiths therefore were ordered ..... was coming on the heels of the black horses.
HR-SL-11 <HR text C The Black Riders arrived at the Gate of Isengard while Gandalf was still a prisoner in the tower. {In this account,} Saruman, in fear and despair, ..... Eagle flying towards Edoras.
Now Saruman's case was worse. If Gandalf ..... Master that you have done so.’
This skillful speech convinced even the Witch-king ...... some bearing messages to him.
When he was rid of the Riders Saruman ..... Eriador all the spies, spy-birds, and agents that he could muster.>
HR-SL-12
{Two days after Gandalf had departed from Orthanc, .....
...
...
...
...
...
...
... would slay him with torture.}
HR-SL-13 <HR text C When the Black Riders were far across Enedwaith and drawing near at last to Tharbad, they had what was for them a great stroke of good fortune, but disastrous for Saruman, and deadly perilous for Frodo.
Saruman had long taken an interest ...... Isengard Saruman was still recognized as an ally.
Some while ago one of Saruman's most trusted servants ...... and notes concerning the Shire.
This Dunlending was overtaken ..... for immediate visit and enquiry.
The Witch-king had now a clearer understanding ...... and sent turn on to Bree as an agent. HR-SL-14 {He was the squint-eyed southerner at the Inn.}>
Night was waning on the twenty-second ...... Gandalf upon Shadowfax was riding over Rohan far behind.>
HR-SL-15 <HR text B
{In version B it is noted that the}The Black Captain did not know ...... while he himself visited the Barrow-downs. HR-SL-16 {In notes on the movements of the Black Riders at that time it is said that the}The Black Captain stayed there for some days, and the Barrow-wights were roused, and all things of evil spirit, hostile to Elves and Men, were on the watch with malice in the Old Forest and on the Barrow-downs.>
FY-HL-17: This title is self-explanatory, as the main text of the chapter is from this work.

HR-SL-01: We start off the chapter with the bit from Of the Rings of Power which describes (in brief) the events prior to LotR. It serves as a nice introduction to the material of the chapter, which is concerned with Saruon's hunt for the Ring.

HR-SL-02: Here we enter into the base text of the chapter, text A of The Hunt for the Ring.

HR-SL-03: Here we pull in the first expansion from another version of the text. This is from text D, which expands on Gollum's role in the events. This information is worth giving.

HR-SL-04: Another tidbit from text D worth giving.

HR-SL-05: These movements of Aragorn are given in text B, and are worth giving, and I think this is the place that fits them best. I have chopped up much of the text B snippet given, and I have also not used all of it, but only because it is mostly redundant with text A, giving in some places no new info. I have taken all the bits I feel are substantially different enough to warrant giving.

HR-SL-06: These are given as weaknesses of the Nazgul in text B, so I felt they belonged here, where their weakness is discussed in text A.

HR-SL-07: This detail is absent from text A, so i took it from B.

HR-SL-08: CT notes that in the Tale of Years, it lists three Nazgul as dwelling in Dol Guldur, and that he thinks this is a slip of the pen for Tolkien, so I think we should follow his word, especially since it is such a minor change. I took the bits from the note that were worth giving.

HR-SL-09: This information about Gollum entering Moria is not given outside of text D, and sets the stage for his introduction into the narrative of LotR later.

HR-SL-10: Because of the text D addition, the 'they' has lost its antecedent. I changed it to be correct.

HR-SL-11: This is the most radical change to the base narrative, however, text C is later than text A, so it would (by our rules) represent the more correct version to give. Therefore I replaced all of this part of the story in text A with the version given in text C.

HR-SL-12: I mark here the deletion of the old text A story.

HR-SL-13: Here we return to the text C story at the point where we left off.

HR-SL-14: This reference to a very specific event in LotR does not work for me. No matter what we include in the draft for the next chapter, we will not mention the squint-eyed southerner from the inn, so this reference will go unexplained. I would rather remove it. There may be other such references which I missed, which should maybe also be removed.

HR-SL-15: This snippet of text B seems to be the latest piece of info on the movements of the Black Riders given in the UT text. In Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion more bits are published, but they refer to very specific events in LotR, and the narrative is presented in near bullet-point form, and I think is not worth including, due to both of these reasons. Therefore, I think we can end the chapter here.

HR-SL-16: This is just cleaning it up from CT commentary into narrative.

Last edited by ArcusCalion; 07-11-2018 at 10:58 PM.
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