The Warg and Warg Rider Appreciation Thread

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

I can only imagine Great Wargs strolling down a busy street! Some Wargs have extremely short tempers, so I suppose that some people may die as a result of that scheme. But if I ever need looking after then a Warg would come top of my list.

So far the thread has been solely about Wargs but I'd like to talk about the Warg Rider. Rest assured, the Warg Rider is not a normal Orc as depicted in the movies. Oh no. The Warg Rider is a different being altogether. He is no mere Goblin. He is an intrinsically evil tamer of Wargs. He corrupts them to his will. He is very powerful indeed.

Just consider the list of foes who have tried AND FAILED to defeat him. Elrond, Theoden, Eomer, Faramir, Saruman, Galadriel, a host of Dunlending Wildmen and the ENTIRE RACE OF DWARVES! The only two foes he has ran from are Aragorn and Gandalf the White, for he knows that their ferocity is too much for him to handle.

The Warg Rider is cunning and feasts (not literally) on the weakness of some Wargs. He is a deadly enemy. Elrond once prophecised that the Great Wargs would one day seek for the Warg Rider and vanquish him for all that he has done to the good name of the Warg. Galadriel was not too sure whether Elrond was right or not.

[SamwiseGamgee]

Phew, back!
Well, the Warg Rider. I had been wondering how long it would be before we succumbed to the temptation of mentioning that creature. What an evil being he is. Few can comprehend just what he embodies in that evil green body of his. He is a walking (riding?) embodiement of fear and invokes terror in all who look on his face. Horrid.
I'm compiling at the moment some rustic legends and 'myths' as to the origins and roles of wargs, which I think would be interesting and perhaps even amusing for us to read. What, for example, was the Numenorean stance on wargs? All shall be answered.
PS Eomer, great signature!
This, Mrs Fawlty. This Mr Fawlty. This, slap on the head!

[Amariden Ravenhill]

Greetings, my friends! We meet again! I have been wandering for some time in the Old Forest and I tell you truly that I may have seen a Warg! I will describe what I saw in breif. The creature was of a lithe stature, and moved in rolling gait. The night was dark and I could only distinguish the crerature's peircing eyes. I stood in awe, transfixed, as it gave a howl that would turn the hearts ofeven the bravest of warriors to ice. Then, with a rustle of the wind; it was gone. Perhaps it was only my mind, or perhaps I truly did see a Warg.

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

I believe that, once you see a Warg, you fully realise what you are seeing. I don't think people can be tricked into thinking they have seen a Warg. Much like anyone who saw Gandalf could tell that he was a being of great power.

I remember when I first saw a Warg. T'was a warm evening and I was strolling through the moors some miles from my home. There was a figure standing atop a hill , probably a half mile from where I was standing, yet I could instantly tell that it was a Warg. It was as if an angel had come to my side and said "Yes, my son. You have indeed set eyes upon the most noble of God's creatures."

To use simile, it is like a veil is lifted from before your eyes, and you see the truth. If you did not feel this way Amariden, then it probably wasn't a Warg. If you did, then congratulations!

[SamwiseGamgee]

Well all this talk of seeing wargs leads me nicely into the legend surrounding wargs according to the Dunlending Wildmen. Why? Well, the Dunlendings had a great respect and fear for wargs. They had no rightful name for them, they knew them only by the same name as they referred to gifts. This is because the Dunlendings believed that wargs were gifts, sent from their angels to guide and guard the Dunlendings.
One of the most famous Dunlending legends tells of Musht, a Dunlending who once met with a Warg on the highest summit of Middle Earth and was there imbued with super-human strength for having passed all the tests of that particular warg. It was after this that the Dunlendings told of how if any man looked upon a warg without a worthy soul then surely death would become him. I certainly hope your soul is worthy Ravenhill!

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

Interesting Samwise. I would like to hear the other legends regarding Wargs from the People's of Middle-earth, that is, of course, if you know any others?

[SamwiseGamgee]

Well, of course, Eomer. I know many more. Perhaps you would like to hear what the people of Rohan thought of the wargs? I shall tell thee, though I am sure you already know, Rider of the Mark.
As you can imagine the Rohirrim were not great fans of wargs. When they clashed with enemy cavalry it was usually warg mounted orcs, and hence the bitter rivalry.
The legend of the Mark goes that wargs were once normal wolves who roamed the plains, quite happy and contented in their packs to live a life of peace. However, Morgoth in his evil plan took many of these wolves captive and much like the elves who would become orcs by his Morgul ways so would the wolves warp and transform into wargs, sent to forever blight humanity.
Of one warg in particular many stories are told in the eoreds, he who was named Ghrag the Awful. For many long years he reigned in terror on the eastern borders of Rohan, causing great fear and terror wherever he roamed. It was on hearing of this great plight that Eorl rode forth from Edoras on Felarof, his great steed, to meet this sore on his fair kingdom. When the two met the locals said that the sky darkened and a great chill covered all the land. For hours the two great foes battled, locked in a duel of fates. In the end it was Eorl who drove his sword through the throat of Ghrag and did spill his blood. It is said that upon the ground where the blood of Ghrag was spilled no thing has ever lived, and that any who step there will be taken by a deadly fever.
PS- Eomer, how do you spell eloqution?