The background of this story:
In a footnote to letter no.153 Tolkien mentions that in Númenor “the top of the Mountain, the Meneltarma or Pillar of Heaven, was dedicated to Eru, the Oneâ€. I think that this belief could have passed with the Númenoreans across the sea and into Gondor. Assuming that the signal beacons of Gondor were indeed as high up on the mountain peaks of the Ered Nimrais as they were shown in the movies, taking care of a beacon would be much more than guard duty. It would mean living in a holy place.
But what would being so close to Eru mean to the men guarding the beacons? How would it feel to be so close to the One?
That is what I am trying to discover in this story.
For this story I have adapted the psalm 121 in the version of the King James Bible to Middle-earth. It is one of my favourite prayers. Please don’t take offence, because none is intended.
The information on the beacons of Gondor comes mainly from “The Rivers and Beacon-hills of Gondor†by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Carl F. Hostetter, with additional commentary and materials provided by Christopher Tolkien, J.R.R. and Christopher Tolkien’s texts ©2001 The Tolkien Trust, but the best source for the etymologies was: quicksilver899 dot com, look for “Tolkien Dictionary”.
The illuminated manuscript was created for the first “Create for Life” event 2010. An eBook in pdf format can be downloaded HERE (via Mediafire, 6.78 MB).
magnificent blending of religion and fanfiction, as he progresses up the trail you can hear the centuries long repeating by rote a prayer, and then you break it up in what could almost pass as a personal prayer to give him reason to believe more deeply. ^:-)^
Thank you so much for reading. This is definitely one of my stranger works, so it doesn’t get many readers. I’m so happy you liked it!
I only discovered this tale this evening, and I love it!
I, too, have blended LOTR/SILM fanfiction with aspects of Christian belief (See Resurrection and Resurrection II in my FFN profile), and was so pleased to see this story. I like how you’ve given us an entire society that we never thought of before, through the personage of the narrator, and the things he tells us as he climbs.
I particularly like the bit of a twist you gave to the account of the coming of the Numenoreans, and the possible reasons for them not allowing others to pray to Eru, except the King. Amazing what a difference of perspective brings, hmmm? 🙂
I do hope that you were able to complete your planned illumination for this tale for the cancer awareness project. Will you scan your finished project and post it to illustrate this tale?
Well done, my dear! Well Done!
Thank you for your kind words. I’m thrilled you like the story. It’s really dear to my heart: 2004/2005 I spent around twelve whole months working on it! I’ve never had a short story take so much time before or after.
And yes, during the next few days I’ll edit this version of the story and include the illuminated letters I’ve made, and make it also available as an eBook in pdf format for download. Just keep an eye on my blog – I’ll be sure to post a notice about the update there.