Unfinished Tales - Part Four - I - The Drúedain

[Galadriel55]

Re Aghan's story, I posted on a different thread:

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

When I read UT I found Aghan's story something more than just "special"; UT is filled with touching emotional stories. But this one really triggered something inside me. After I finished the book I went back and reread the story, and although I couldn't be full of it I could not recapture the full depth of the feeling I had when I first read it. It is the kind of thing that only happens once.

If I had to pick a favourite out UT, it would undoubtely be this. Coming of Tuor to Gondolin has lots of new details, and it's the most LOTR-like story. The Narn is the Narn, you all know I love it. () I cheered for Borondir and Eorl, was breathless during the Oath, captivated by the WK's POV of the Hunt for the Ring, and many more. But this story had a combination of being completely unfamiliar and very profound. And as I said in the quote above, I just couldn't get enough of it, but I never felt it as deeply as I did the first time.

Originally Posted by Esty

The watch-stone of Aghan is imbued with some of his powers. Would you say there is magic of some kind involved?

Aye, definitely. But what is magic? I always hold to the opinion that magic is closely tied to willpower and/or nature. In this case it's a mix.

Originally Posted by Esty

The drûg, or Drúedain, are an exception to Tolkien's usual convention that looks = character. They are not lovely, but are good.

The men least like Elves in appearance are probably most like Elves in character/ability/etc. They just went off to a different branch: the Elves yearned to know more, while the druedain yearned to learn deeper. That's how I see it, at least. In certain ways, they are more similar to Elves than even Numenorians!

On a different topic, I think that the drugs most certainly deserve the title of "Edain"! The 3 Houses are those Men that helped the Elves fight against Morgoth. The Druedain just fought against Morgoth, just because they were good and uncorruptible and Morgoth was evil, without reasoning whom to help and whom to fight. I don't think though that they could be called the Fourth House. I can't quite recall, but they're not exactly a "House", are they?