Anybody for Dragon Chow? - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Elven-Maiden · 11-19-2004, 02:51 PM

The ents also had the Ent-draughts that made Merry and Pippin grow so tall.

burrahobbit · 11-19-2004, 03:04 PM

They are magical creatures, it doesn't matter. But anyway.

Dragons: big snakes eat once every couple months.

Ents: do trees eat?

Nazgul: are dead.

Balrogs: do angels eat?

obloquy · 11-19-2004, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Balrogs: do angels eat?

They might once they're incarnate.

burrahobbit · 11-19-2004, 03:32 PM

After a quick aim conversation with obloquy this is what I have.

There are different degrees of incarnation, and we don't know how far down the path any particular balrog has/had gone. The Moria balrog spent quite a while locked up in a cave without food, so they clearly don't need to eat all the time. That being said, he could have simply been hibernating. Bears do it all the time, and it does say that the Dwarves woke him. Aside from that period, though, there are typically always orcs around. Take that however you want. Long story short. Either they don't need to eat or they can go a long time without food for whatever reason or eat/be fed by orcs.

**The Saucepan Man** · 11-19-2004, 08:10 PM

The Desolation of Smaug is so-called because it was his hunting ground.

Quote:

Originally Posted by burra

Ents: do trees eat?

We know that they had mouths. Assuming that they had leaves also, they would gain energy from both ingestion and photosynthesis. Thus they would be very interesting to a modern biologist.

Feanor of the Peredhil · 11-20-2004, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Saucepan Man

We know that they had mouths. Assuming that they had leaves also, they would gain energy from both ingestion and photosynthesis. Thus they would be very interesting to a modern biologist.

I'm assuming just as interesting as the well-known Venus Fly Trap.

Quote:

The VFT produces a short fleshy leaf that carries a modified tip that forms two sides of the trap, each side contains three hairs which when touched two to three times causes the two sides to spring shut in a very rapid motion fast enough to catch flies and other insects. The leaf once closed then exudes a series of enzymes that slowly dissolve the internal juices of the insect and hence supply the plant with food. After a few days the trap re-opens leaving the skeleton of the insect to be washed out by the rain. If no insect is caught by the trap the leaves re-open within a few hours to prepare for the next insect to arrive. The VFT comes from soils that are very poor in nutrients so the plant has adapted itself to finding nutrients from other means rather than starve. VFT's can easily grow without ever eating insects.

http://www.collectorscorner.com.au/C.../Venusmain.htm

Maybe the Ents don't really need the draughts... they just use them to augment their diets. After all, it is biologically precidented.

Fea

obloquy · 11-21-2004, 06:42 PM

Gandalf was fully incarnate and thus required physical sustenance. He was put in this state intentionally so it was complete. Balrogs of the Third Age were likely incarnate, but their incarnation was inadvertent, and due to repeatedly engaging in certain activities of the physical realm (eating and conceiving children, Tolkien says, are the most "incarnating" of all). Balrogs were, however, at one time only "clothed" spirits, with a self-fashioned physical raiment. We know that they were eventually fully corporeal because their later deaths were final and there is no indication that anyone feared their re-embodiment.

11-19-2004, 02:51 PM	#1
Elven-Maiden Shade of Carn Dûm Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 297	The ents also had the Ent-draughts that made Merry and Pippin grow so tall. __________________ Tout ce qui est or ne brille pas, Tous ceux qui errent ne sont pas perdus. Mobilis in Mobile

11-19-2004, 03:04 PM	#2
burrahobbit Hidden Spirit Join Date: May 2000 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 1,424	They are magical creatures, it doesn't matter. But anyway. Dragons: big snakes eat once every couple months. Ents: do trees eat? Nazgul: are dead. Balrogs: do angels eat? __________________ What's a burrahobbit got to do with my pocket, anyways?

11-19-2004, 03:32 PM	#4
burrahobbit Hidden Spirit Join Date: May 2000 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 1,424	After a quick aim conversation with obloquy this is what I have. There are different degrees of incarnation, and we don't know how far down the path any particular balrog has/had gone. The Moria balrog spent quite a while locked up in a cave without food, so they clearly don't need to eat all the time. That being said, he could have simply been hibernating. Bears do it all the time, and it does say that the Dwarves woke him. Aside from that period, though, there are typically always orcs around. Take that however you want. Long story short. Either they don't need to eat or they can go a long time without food for whatever reason or eat/be fed by orcs. __________________ What's a burrahobbit got to do with my pocket, anyways?

11-21-2004, 06:42 PM	#7
obloquy Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: WA Posts: 941	Gandalf was fully incarnate and thus required physical sustenance. He was put in this state intentionally so it was complete. Balrogs of the Third Age were likely incarnate, but their incarnation was inadvertent, and due to repeatedly engaging in certain activities of the physical realm (eating and conceiving children, Tolkien says, are the most "incarnating" of all). Balrogs were, however, at one time only "clothed" spirits, with a self-fashioned physical raiment. We know that they were eventually fully corporeal because their later deaths were final and there is no indication that anyone feared their re-embodiment.