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#1 | ||
Gruesome Spectre
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Heaven's doorstep
Posts: 8,039
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The Balrog that was the bane of the Dwarves in Moria, and was eventually detroyed by Gandalf, had suprised the Dwarves when they apparently delved deeper than they ought while looking for mithril.
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The Balrog fled from the host of the Valar and hid in Moria, or under it. However, Moria was hardly a desolate, uninhabited place when the Balrog decided upon it as a refuge. When the Dwarves came into Beleriand and made dwellings at Nogrod and Belegost, they already had cities to the east of the Blue Mountains. Quote:
Khazad-dûm was long established by the end of the First Age, and thousands of Dwarves likely lived and worked there. There would have been comings and goings constantly, and surely the Dwarves kept a watch at the doors. How did something like a Balrog slip underground under the most populous city of the Dwarves?
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Music alone proves the existence of God. |
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#2 |
Ghost Prince of Cardolan
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 3,448
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like a hobbit Caefully and quietly
![]() Actually maybe through another passae like the ones the orcs made home in later I mean and this is PURELY Conjecture they(the tunnels) did all kind of intersect somehow. Or he could havee gone through the west gate which may have been much less populated than the other side also here's the idea being a maiar he could look like a dwarf and only in his rage did he reveal himself.
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Morsul the Resurrected |
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#3 | ||
Wisest of the Noldor
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Somehow I don't get the impression that Balrogs are all that good at stealth...
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I find it more likely that it entered through the tunnels beneath Moria– you know, the ones "gnawed by nameless things" (see The White Rider). According to Gandalf, the Balrog was familiar with these. We're not told if there was a way directly into these deep tunnels from outside at the time of the War of the Ring, but I don't see why there couldn't have been at some point. From an outside-the-story viewpoint, I should say that's why Tolkien bothers to mention this ancient, unknown network of tunnels beneath the mountains– it explains how the Balrog got there in the first place. This is a pretty interesting image, however– Quote:
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"Even Nerwen wasn't evil in the beginning." –Elmo. Last edited by Nerwen; 10-12-2009 at 12:00 AM. |
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#4 |
Dread Horseman
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Behind you!
Posts: 2,744
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Interesting catch on the detail there, Inzila, as usual. Perhaps the Balrog flew down a ventilation shaft.
![]() In any case, as Nerwen has mentioned, it seems doubtful that the Balrog entered Moria proper and then made his way to the deep places. Instead he must have wormed his way there from the surface by some other means, only to be "unearthed" by the Dwarves later on. You've inspired me to page through some of the accounts of the coming of the Host of the West to see if I can glean more details... |
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#5 | |
Newly Deceased
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Everywhere-but retreats to a window in the west from time to time
Posts: 8
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In LoTR 'the Balrog' is the only surviving member which was also known as Durin's Bane having killed two kings of the Durin's Folk in Khazad-dum. This was the one Gandalf killed in TA 3019 after a lengthy battle. I suspect 'the Balrog' arrived in Moria before the TA through its ability to move unseen. Interesting points raised here.
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Not all those who wander are lost |
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#6 | |
Gruesome Spectre
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Heaven's doorstep
Posts: 8,039
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I would say the Balrog was lucky to have escaped their vigilance, but it was probably the Dwarves who were luckier. This actually makes me wonder why the Balrog picked a location where it was likely to be discovered sooner or later. The Misty Mountains were a pretty large range, and you'd think there would have been hundreds of caves it could have explored. Maybe it had once known the Watcher and wanted to catch up on old times. ![]()
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Music alone proves the existence of God. Last edited by Inziladun; 10-12-2009 at 05:20 AM. |
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#7 | |
Odinic Wanderer
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Anyways the entrances to tunnels under Moria probably wasn't situated near the gates or at the main travel rutes, the misty mountains is a massive mountain range and it should be no problem to find a desolate place. |
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#8 |
Wight of the Old Forest
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Unattended on the railway station, in the litter at the dancehall
Posts: 3,329
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From the Silmarillion, it would seem that Angband was mostly subterranean, and probably dug pretty deep - maybe even including some biotopes for nameless, gnawing things of its own (Morgoth's pampered pets?). So who's to say Durin's Bane didn't travel all the way underground? It could have wandered through the entrails of the Earth for millennia until it finally found a cosy nook to settle down, entirely unaware that there were Dwarves living on top of it. I guess it was pretty annoyed when they broke into its attics.
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Und aus dem Erebos kamen viele seelen herauf der abgeschiedenen toten.- Homer, Odyssey, Canto XI |
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