Posted: May 28, 1999 at 18:18:28: by Osric
: The point is Gandalf encountered no other power, other than that of the Balrog itself. Despite the idea appealing to some, there is nothing to suggest Caradhas is anything other than a mountain with a bad attitude, just like the Matterhorn in the Alps, which has claimed numerous lives and has a habit of having very, very changable weather conditions.: Padster That would be the logician's minimalist interpretation, yes. :) But we know for a fact that Morgoth put something of his own essence into the fabric of the mountains. (I suspect it was more than coincidence that the mountain with the (most?) evil reputation is host both to the Balrog and to the world's only vein of the fabulous mithril.) We also know that magic was real in Middle-earth, and we know that there are mighty magical goings on right through the story of LotR, of which the hobbits (and therefore the reader) don't get more than a tantalising hint. I will unashamedly admit that I address the magic of Middle-earth from a what-if perspective, looking for possible internally consistent and in-character magical rationales for these hints, in the full knowledge that they will never be canon. I introduced the idea of a mostly-dormant spirit; I have developed it further, purely for my own amusement. I also like the idea that the Balrog's evil somehow suffused into the rock of the mountain. This has been a really good discussion! Cheers,
Osric P-)
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