Was the Balrog drawn by the ring?

[Leaf]

Originally Posted by Kuruharan

Whatever else might be said about the Balrog, he was either mostly dormant or had become profoundly reclusive. I think it was a little bit of both.

He and the orcs had to be aware of each other and through the orcs awareness, Sauron must have been aware of him too. Unlike Smaug, who Sauron wanted to utilize, the Balrog was in Moria with Sauron's servants and yet the Balrog never left Moria. Was Sauron not interested in utilizing the Balrog in the war, or did the Balrog just refuse to participate?

Personally I think the Balrog's primary motivation was a desire to be left alone. He may have found being on the losing end of the War of Wrath a scarring experience. He may have slept through Balin's occupation, or perhaps he had no desire to meddle with them and possibly alert the world to his presence. Sauron's orcs returning to destroy the colony may have roused him in some way.

Then here comes the Fellowship causing noise and bother. It must have been annoying.

Maybe the Balrog wanted to be left alone. But I find this situation to be confusing anyway. IIRC the Book of Marzabul explicitly tells us that the Dwarves of Balins colony found mithril. Since the easy to reach mithril oreveins were exhausted for thousands of years they probably used the newest and deepest abandoned mine shafts. Exactly those mine shafts which were the reason the Balrog attacked Khazad Dum in the first place. This surely was (from the Balrogs point of view) an absurd, presumptuous affront.

[Kuruharan]

Originally Posted by Leaf

Maybe the Balrog wanted to be left alone. But I find this situation to be confusing anyway. IIRC the Book of Marzabul explicitly tells us that the Dwarves of Balins colony found mithril. Since the easy to reach mithril oreveins were exhausted for thousands of years they probably used the newest and deepest abandoned mine shafts. Exactly those mine shafts which were the reason the Balrog attacked Khazad Dum in the first place. This surely was (from the Balrogs point of view) an absurd, presumptuous affront.

My explanation is that the Balrog was dormant in some other part of the mines.

Or perhaps the Balrog was the Watcher in the Water?

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Kuruharan

Or perhaps the Balrog was the Watcher in the Water?

I think it was possibly the 'spirit' of Caradhras; a diffuse evil force, unconnected to Sauron.

[Leaf]

Originally Posted by Kuruharan

My explanation is that the Balrog was dormant in some other part of the mines.

Yes, that´s plausible so far. Either that, or the Balrog simply didn't care for the dwarves and their activities, which is less plausible. But what irks me (and I´m repeating myself) is that we still need an explanation for the sudden alertness of the Balrog mere 25 years later when the fellowship arrives in Moria. Why did it stop being dormant?! The noise caused by the fellowship is no satisfactory answer for me since Balin's dwarves most likely caused way more noise and turmoil.

You said earlier:

Originally Posted by Kuruharan

...or perhaps he had no desire to meddle with them and possibly alert the world to his presence.

Then again, why is it suddenly okay for the Balrog to blow it´s own cover just for some wanderers?!

Originally Posted by Kuruharan

Sauron's orcs returning to destroy the colony may have roused him in some way.

And a bunch of dwarves returning to harvest mithril, fighting with orcs and reclaiming Moria as their own doesn't rouse the Balrog in the first place?

[Kuruharan]

Originally Posted by Inziladun

I think it was possibly the 'spirit' of Caradhras; a diffuse evil force, unconnected to Sauron.

I wonder if anyone has ever definitively presented the idea of The Watcher = The Balrog...

I can't remember ever seeing such a thing but that doesn't mean someone hasn't done it.

Originally Posted by Leaf

Then again, why is it suddenly okay for the Balrog to blow it´s own cover just for some wanderers?!

Maybe he was really frustrated by that point?

I agree, it is a little difficult to explain away.

[Belegorn]

I don't know about the creature in the water being the Balrog. It had at least 20 tentacles. That does not sound like a Balrog to me, and I do not think the Balrog would attack from a point of weakness. When he fought Gandalf the pool under Moria put out his fires. Although those were extremely cold waters. I think the Balrog must have been very cautious after his peers were manhandled in the War of Wrath. I have no idea why he suddenly decided to show himself. Being a resident of Thangorodrim I do not think Dwarves working with metals would bother him much. Melkor always had the smithies going, beating the metals, creating machines, et cetera. Perhaps it was the Gandlaf/Ring combo, but I do not quite think so. Was Gandalf disturbed by the presence of the Balrog? I do not recall. Perhaps if his hair was on end, maybe the Balrog himself felt it, not quite sure why his skin was tingling. I'd think he'd want to stay put if he were still fearing for his life, although they were fighters so maybe he had screwed up his courage after 2 Ages of stealth.

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Belegorn

I think the Balrog must have been very cautious after his peers were manhandled in the War of Wrath. I have no idea why he suddenly decided to show himself. Being a resident of Thangorodrim I do not think Dwarves working with metals would bother him much.

This put me in mind of a rather obscure line from ROTK, Appendix A III Durin's Folk. There it is noted that in the Third age the Dwarves of Moria were mining under Caradhras for mithril, and

Thus they roused from sleep a thing of terror that, flying from Thangorodrim, had lain hidden at the foundations of the earth since the coming of the Host of the West: a Balrog of Morgoth.

After 'roused from sleep' there is a footnote:

Or released it from prison; it may well be that it had already been awakened by the malice of Sauron.

Since the One contained part of Sauron's will and spirit, and it is elsewhere noted that it 'calls' to evil creatures, I do not think it is by any means a stretch to assume that the Ring was a factor in the Balrog's attack on the Fellowship.

[Zigûr]

Originally Posted by Inziladun

Since the One contained part of Sauron's will and spirit, and it is elsewhere noted that it 'calls' to evil creatures, I do not think it is by any means a stretch to assume that the Ring was a factor in the Balrog's attack on the Fellowship.

This is an excellent observation. Another thing to emphasise for the sake of clarity, in my opinion, is that we must remember that just because Sauron's Ring called to other evil beings, or that Sauron's malice may have awoken them (in the possible case of the Balrog) that does not mean that they were under the direct influence or control of Sauron himself.

Part of the fissiparous nature of evil was that there were many evil things, but they were not all controlled by the same evil will.