Thorin in the Blue Mountains

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by Inziladun

Just think, if the Orcs had had the presence of mind, they could have rigged a Balrog costume, dressed one of the larger ones up in it, and taken Erebor from Dáin.

Orcs having a presense of mind? What new insanity is that?!

No, really. A Balrog has a presense that no orc - with or without a mind - can duplicate: its willpower. My theory is that most "Balrog duels" (or any Ainu battles, for that matter) involve a contest of wills as much as physical prowess.

I think that a jig-saw puzzle is another way to visualise the Balrog/Elf/Dwarf triangle. If the pieces match, you have an "equal chance battle". If they don't, then... Well, let's put it this way. You need to have the right protection for an enemy's weapon. A shield will not hide you from poisonous gasses, and a gas mask won't protect from swords (to give a crude example). Saying this, the elves have a matching defense against at least one of the Balrog's weapons: their own spiritual/will power. That way, the victory is left to the better swordsman. Dwarves have a willpower of their own, but on a different level and in a different direction, if you get my meaning. The pieces don't match.

I take those to mean that Thorin simply didn't have the numbers for a flat-out assault on Smaug. Why not? Because a large number of the Erebor survivors had fled to the Iron Hills after Smaug's arrival. Why wouldn't they have flocked to him in the Ered Luin, if not because they didn't consider the possibility of a real dwarf-kingdom existing there again to be an option? Instead, they stayed close to the Lonely Mountain, the real kingdom of Thorin.

Very interesting. So, for Dwarves, the kingdom is even more important than the king? Thinking of Thror...