The Warg and Warg Rider Appreciation Thread

[SamwiseGamgee]

Well, Eomer. I can hardly contain myself. Truly I shall wait with immense anticipation for thy great and mighty story!

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

Grifdokh, Marshmak and Bellizor had long since left the other Warg Riders. Rhûn Orcs, however brilliant, were never likely to be fully accepted by other Orcs. But Grifdokh had recently desired a truce. He recalled the glory of the full complement of Warg Riders and longed to live that life once more. This was in the Fourth Age, when the Return of the King had ceased to be a matter of interest to the Free Peoples of Middle-earth.

Grifdokh had a few Wargs still under his command, but the majority of the Wargs he had once known had stayed with Sarcroch, the most powerful of the Warg Riders. So he sent out only two Wargs to bring tidings to Sarcroch, whom Grifdokh believed to be now far in the North.

Around six months later, one of the Wargs returned, and a terror was upon that miserable beast. He would speak neither to the other Wargs or Grifdokh, and the head Orc was furious. "So!" he cried, "Sarcroch chooses to curse a Warg of Grifdokh, does he? Well, let him know that I will not cower before him as a slave any longer; I will go to the North and I will challenge this sorceror!" Grifdokh had always resented Sarcroch's arrogance.

So north he went. He brought his allies Marshmak and Bellizor, and a great host of Orcs. Following them came the Wargs, meek and miserable; trapped in this bitter life by the hateful Orcs.

When he came to the outskirts of Forodwaith, Grifdokh halted. He saw before him a great host of Wargs. "So Sarcroch plans to sacrifice his Wargs first, does he?" said he. "Well, I shall not waste my Wargs in a pitiful fight. We will slaughter the Wargs ourselves. With me, my Orcs!"

And with that, Grifdokh and his comrades ran toward the great host with confidence. The three former Warg Riders had seen these Wargs close-up a long time before, and they did not fear them at all.

But suddenly Grifdokh stopped. For he had keen eyes and saw now that he had been outfoxed.....by someone. The Wargs that he was looking at could now be seen more clearly. And there was no doubting now that these Wargs, now moving steadily toward the Orcs, were Great Wargs.

"What is this..." Grifdokh faltered. He realised that he was about to engage in battle with a mighty army of Great and True Wargs, against which there can be no victor.

And verily, the wrath and fury of the Wargs was great, and they tore through the ranks of the Orcs with gusto, and the weak enslaved Wargs were wakened from their oppression and were set free, and howled with delight. The blood of the Orcs ran through the valley of Forodwaith like a river.

But who were these Wargs? That is what Grifdokh wondered as he witnessed Marshmak's limbs being ripped off his torso, and Bellizor's head flying through the air. It was what he wondered as he saw his last sight: the huge jaws of a Warg bearing down on his face.

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

It was dancing spawn of ungoliant who got me thinking again about the relation between Wargs and dancing in Middle-earth.

The Elves claimed to have brought the art of dancing to Middle-earth from the Blessed Realm, from whence they had learned much, of course, from the Ainur. This, while a controversial claim in itself, I will let pass for now. What is truly worthy of debate is the vast differences between Elvish and Wargish dancing.

Above all else, the dance of the Elves was slow. It was designed to complement, for example, poetry; and above all else it attempted to attain great beauty. It was timeless and appropriate in pretty much all walks of Elvish life.

Wargish dancing was very different. It had a vigour and energy drastically removed from the ways of the Elves. Such fire and passion was the trademark of the Warg; and while it was truly not appropriate for every occasion, Wargish dancing as a celebration of life was unmatched.

So what did they think of each other? The friendships and wars between the Elves and the Wargs have been well-documented on this Thread, but the bitterness between the two races over the application of dance was highly important. You see, the Elves (for the most part) despised Wargish dancing; they considered it depraved and 'low'; they did not see it as true dance, rather as a debauched social movement. Not all Elves agreed though. It is said that Lúthien Tinúviel herself was a not-so-secret fan of Wargish dance, and that her father was deeply ashamed of her for this very reason. She was always being locked in that Tree-house for bad behaviour. Why do you think Beren was so intoxicated by her dancing? Because it wasn't your regular Elvish stuff. It was infused with the lust of the Wargs.

Wargs for their part were pleased by Elvish dance at times. Certainly at Warg funerals Elvish dancing was favoured for the sombre occasion.

Any thoughts? Next time I'll offer a little-heeded example of the great influence of Wargish dancing in one of the cosier settings of the Third Age.

[Formendacil]

Most interesting, Master Of The Rohirrim. You seem, as usual in these matters, to have hit upon the head of the matter.

Alas! I have been remiss in my Warg studies of late, and have neglected most study of these great creatures to whom this illustious society is rightfully devoted. I shall try to amend that in the near future...

Perhaps what we need is Wargsaholics Anonymous... for those of us who have LAPSED from Wargaholism...

[Nilpaurion Felagund]

I have been planning to post on this thread for quite a long time, but more trivial matters have ever succeeded in driving the thought away from me.

Enedwaith, I just wanted to say that regarding the planned Canon, I would like to set aside the Hare problem for a while, considering that they hadn't played any role in the affairs of Eä until the Ages of the Sun. Also, I have been working on the first of the texts on the Wargish Canon, The Ainulindalë according to the Wargs, which I shall post soon--hopefully.

[SamwiseGamgee]

Alas, Form, how we have all neglected this most worthy of threads. Shame be upon us and our families for one thousand generations! Greetinggs, also, Nilp, tis good to have thee back.

Now, horsemaster, I move on to your post. I've looked into Warg dancing a little myself. Indeed, if memory serves I do believe that within the first few posts of this thread there was rather a lively duologue betwix thyself and I regarding Warg dancing. Nonetheless, tis a subject worthy of this learned society's consideration. It is my persuasion that the relationship and strain between Warg and elf regarding dance is somewhat of a microcosm of the Warg/elf dichotomy in its entirety. The Wargs: noble, open to suggestion and not above admitting that in certain circumsatnces there way may not be best. On t'other hand, though, one encounters the elven philosophy: narrow-minded, xenophobic, backward and, in fact, beyond xenophobia: downright racism. Alas, and have Wargs had this burden since before time and sadly they look unlikely to lose it in the pressing future!