"A Knife in the Dark" (VII) & Chapter 12. "Flight to the Ford" (I)

Tonight is the night that the Ring has finally revealed its power to harm Frodo; tonight Frodo has been wounded by the Black Riders and Strider fears that it may be a mortal wound, since the Riders seem to just be waiting for it to follow its course, given that they have not finished him off. In a way, the narrative has been preparing us for this incident: Strider warned the hobbits yesterday that he did not know what they would find when they reached Weathertop and, when they arrive there, what he sees disturbs him. The white flashes of light that we saw three nights ago become meaningful today, when Strider gathers from the evidence left on the site that Gandalf was there and he was attacked by - and therefore fought against - minions of the Enemy. 

Today, we have also been able to enjoy some of the vistas that Tolkien referred to when talking about the layers of history found in The Lord of the Rings,  vistas that come to the surface briefly by Sam's singing part of the song of Gil-Galad, but mostly by the stories that Strider shares with the hobbits, and which allow us to get a glimpse of this many-layered Ranger. Strider is not only knowledgeable in the ways of forests and roads, but also in old lore. In order to cheer the hobbits up, he tells them the tale of Tinúviel, which he describes as "a fair tale, though it is sad, as are all the tales of Middle-earth". We will later know why this tale is so significant for Strider. But not yet. 

I had problems "listening" to the voice of Strider singing whenever I read The Lord of the Rings until Peter Jackson's movies. Now the voice is that of Viggo Mortensen, but I found a nice musical rendition which you can listen to here.

This moment of intimate conviviality is just  the calmess before the storm; the company is finally attacked by the Riders and I am going to bed leaving Frodo seriously wounded. Despite Strider's instructions and the use of fire to repel their enemies, the Ring's power proves to strong for Frodo, who tries in vain to resist the tempation to wear it, thus making himself visible to the Riders, who easily stab him.  Frodo faints, but not before gathering strength to call O Elbereth! Gilthoniel!, attacking one of the Riders and removing the Ring. When he wakes up, Strider shares his fears about Frodo's prospect with Sam, who is devastated to think that he might die. But Strider is not easily defeated, physically or morally. On two occasions today - and not for the last time - he will remind us of the importance of not despairing, of keeping up hope. "You are not alone".