'Pre-baptised'

[davem]

Originally Posted by Lalaith

Fabulous...yet quite scary.

That's what I thought at first. Perhaps rather 'awesome', or 'sublime' even. Imagine standing & looking out across the lake into the foggy sky, not knowing the mountain was there. Suddenly the mist parts, just for a moment, & you see that, & then its gone again. Of course, you'd be terrified, yet it would be like seeing a glimpse of another reality. The world would suddenly seem much bigger & much stranger than you had ever thought. And however terrifying the experience had been I suspect your desire to know more would have been stronger.

We can see it in characters like Bilbo & Sam, yearning to see Elves & Mountains. Strange, terrifying things (for a Hobbit), but symbols, as much as anything else, of a larger world.