𝚠𝚎𝚝𝚊 , 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚋𝚋𝚒𝚝 𝚌𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚒𝚌𝚕𝚎𝚜 , 𝚙𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚙𝚙𝚊 𝚋𝚘𝚢𝚎𝚗𝚜’ 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚢 : ❝ what we wanted was to say that even with all the wealth of erebor , thorin could not rest until he had the arkenstone . this one peerless jewel was the thing that , in thorin’s estimation , bestowed kingship upon its possessor . without it he was not whole . he had invested so much meaning in the arkenstone that without it he felt his identity and legitimacy were incomplete . in the end , as impressive and otherworldly as it was , the stone was just a material object , a bauble , a trinket . its power was attributed and not innate . though he does not understand it , thorin has given that power to the stone and trapped himself . ❞
𝚠𝚎𝚝𝚊 , 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚋𝚋𝚒𝚝 𝚌𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚒𝚌𝚕𝚎𝚜 , 𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚊𝚛𝚖𝚒𝚝𝚊𝚐𝚎’𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚢 : ❝ the story already had the ring and the gold , so another talisman may have been one too many , but the right to rule , it being the king’s jewel , is where the power of the arkenstone lay . [ . . . ] ultimately , the arkenstone was just a gem and the power of loyalty was beyond a talisman . ❞
𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚘𝚗 , 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚕𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚞𝚗𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚕𝚍𝚘𝚛 ( 𝚙𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝟼𝟽 ) like the crystal of diamonds it appeared , and yet was more strong than adamant , so that no violence could mar it or break it within the kingdom of the arda . [ . . . ] and the inner fire of the silmarils fëanor made of the blended light of the trees of the valinor , which lives in them yet , though the trees have long withered and shine no more . therefore even in the darkness of the deepest treasury the silmarils of their own radiance shone like the stars of the varda ; and yet , as they were indeed living things , they rejoined in light and received it and gave it back in hues more marvelous than before .
𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚘𝚗 , 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚕𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚞𝚗𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚕𝚍𝚘𝚛 ( 𝚙𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝟼𝟿 ) for fëanor began to love the silmarils with a greedy love , and grudged the sight of them to all save to his father and his seven sons [ . . . ]
𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚘𝚗 , 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚟𝚘𝚢𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚎ä𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚕 ( 𝚙𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝟸𝟻𝟹 - 𝟸𝟻𝟺 ) but the jewel burned in the hand of maedhros in pain unbearable ; and he perceived it to be as eönwë had said , and that his right thereto had become void , and that the oath was in vain . and being in anguish and despair he cast himself into a gaping chasm filled with fire , and so ended ; and the silmaril that he bore was taken into the bosom of the earth .
𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚋𝚋𝚒𝚝 , 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚠𝚎𝚕𝚟𝚎 , 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 ( 𝚙𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝟸𝟹𝟷 ) ❝ the arkenstone ! the arkenstone ! ❞ murmured thorin in the dark , half dreaming with his chin upon his knees . ❝ it was like a globe with a thousand facets ; it shone like silver in the firelight , like water in the sun , like snow under the stars , like rain upon the moon ! ❞
𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚋𝚋𝚒𝚝 , 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚎𝚗 , 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚘𝚖𝚎 ( 𝚙𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝟸𝟹𝟽 ) it was the arkenstone , the heart of the mountain . so bilbo guessed from thorin’s description ; but indeed there could not be two such gems , even in so marvelous a hoard , even in all the world . [ . . . ] now as he came near , it was tinged with a flickering sparkle of many colors at the surface , reflected and splintered from the wavering light of his torch . the great jewel shone before his feet of its own inner light , and yet , cut and fashioned by the dwarrows , who had dug it from the heart of the mountain long ago , it took all light that fell upon it and changed it into ten thousand sparks of white radiance shot with glints of the rainbow .
𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚋𝚋𝚒𝚝 , 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚒𝚡𝚝𝚎𝚎𝚗 , 𝚊 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚎𝚏 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 ( 𝚙𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝟸𝟽𝟸 ) the elvenking himself , whose eyes were used to things of wonder and beauty , stood up in amazement . even bard gazed marveling at it in silence . it was as if the globe had been filled with moonlight and hung before them in a net woven of the glint of frosty stars .
𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚋𝚋𝚒𝚝 , 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚎𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚎𝚎𝚗 , 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗 𝚓𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚢 ( 𝚙𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝟸𝟿𝟸 ) they buried thorin deep beneath the mountain , and bard laid the arkenstone upon his breast . ❝ there let it lie ‘til the mountain falls ! ❞ he said . ❝ may it bring good fortune to all his folk that dwell here after ! ❞
the arkenstone , the heart of the lonely mountain thus named erebor by the dwarrows and founded deep beneath its roots , was unearthed during the reign of king thrór and declared to be a divine show of his right to rule . thus the jewel was established to be a crowner of kings¹ , bestowing as much power as the descent of durin , for the dwarrows believed it to be a gift of mahal , put forth in the mountain as a homage to their race . in their creator’s honor did they mount it above the throne of thrór , where it glittered for all who sought audience with the king of dwarrows to behold² . inscriptions depicting the arkenstone were carved all throughout the mountain halls³ and upon great tapestries that hung in the halls of history and remembrance . so it remained ‘til the coming of the dragon , smaug , who claimed the mountain and all of its treasure , devouring the dwarrows within it . in this manner was the arkenstone lost , for thrór took it from his throne and carried it with him to the treasury , where the dragon was reveling in its hoard and causing great flying mounds of gold and gems with its wings . thrór fell , and the arkenstone fell with him , out of his grasp and into the swell of coins that mounted the steps before him . as it was to be , the arkenstone remained in smaug’s piles ‘til the company of thorin , son of thráin , son of thrór , descended upon the mountain , and with the help of the contracted burglar and hobbit , bilbo baggins , procured the arkenstone from the dragon , a creature later slain by one of the race of men . the arkenstone exchanged hands ‘til , at the death of thorin , it was placed upon his breast by bard , in a display of good will to the dwarrows , who were now to be the allies of the men of dale henceforth under the reign of king dáin , son of náin , son of grór , and king bard , descendant of girion . no longer would the arkenstone crown a dwarf on the throne , for it was decided , in honor of his great sacrifice and the mourning of the cost of his quest , that the jewel would be buried with thorin , so that he would be crowned evermore .
the arkenstone , though called by the dwarrows to be the heart of the mountain , may never have been so , and instead be a silmaril forged by fëanor and hence lost to the depths of the earth with the undoing of maedhros , son of fëanor , who flung himself into a gaping chasm .
𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚋𝚋𝚒𝚝 ( 𝚙𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝟼𝟻𝟷 - 𝟼𝟻𝟹 ) the choice of arkenstone is significant , since in other writings tolkien was making at the same time he was using a variant of the same name as a term for the silmarils themselves , forging a link between the jewels of fëanor and the arkenstone of [ thrór ] in the legendarium [ . . . ] the idea that the arkenstone could be a silmaril , or was at least somehow linked to the silmarils in tolkien’s mind , has additional support from the philosophical roots of the word .
𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚋𝚋𝚒𝚝 ( 𝚙𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝟼𝟻𝟺 ) like the silmarils in the main branch of the legendarium , and unlike the one ring in the sequel , the arkenstone inspires greed but is not itself malicious in any way [ . . . ]
though many will point to the finality of one statement that the silmarils could not be found again unless the world was broken and re - made anew :
𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚋𝚋𝚒𝚝 ( 𝚙𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝟼𝟻𝟽 ) tolkien had in fact at that point changed his mind four times in the previous fifteen years about the holy jewels’ fate , all in a series of unpublished works that remained in flux and were each to be replaced by a new version of the story [ . . . ] it is thus more than possible that tolkien was playing in the hobbit with the idea of having one of fëanor’s wondrous jewels re - appear , no doubt the one that had been thrown into a fiery chasm , and lost deep within the earth ————— which is , after all , exactly where the dwarrows find the arkenstone , buried at the roots of an extinct volcano .
the silmarils may inspire greed , but they merely reflect the heart of the one who possesses them , and are no source of evil , nor do they hold magical sway beyond the manner with which all covet them for their great beauty⁴ . the silmaril named the ❝ arkenstone ❞ by the dwarrows did not encourage the madness in either thrór nor thorin⁵ . while they both desired the jewel greatly , it was because of the power that they themselves attributed to it , and not anything that the arkenstone itself was able to exact . the light of the valinor , which the arkenstone encases , is a good and beauteous light , and it is only the imperfect heart that all carry and that drives those who see the silmarils to commit treacherous deeds for them that taints the jewels⁶ . in the end , it was the corruption of the dwarf ring given to the line of durin long ago that wholly cursed them with a dark greed and a darker madness . as said by balin , the arkenstone would not have stayed thorin’s madness , nor prevented it , but exacerbated it by its presence .
𝐅𝐎𝐎𝐓𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒 .
¹ 𝚙𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚓𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚜𝚘𝚗 , 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚋𝚋𝚒𝚝 ( 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚖𝚒𝚎𝚜 ) , 𝚋𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚗 : ❝ that stone crowns all . it’s the summit of this great wealth , bestowing power upon he who bears it . would it stay his madness ? no , laddie . i fear it would make him worse . perhaps it is best it remains lost . ❞
² fëanor , having been supposedly taught by aulë ( mahal ) , and with the dwarrows being the creation of aulë , leads to the belief that they would be able to facet the otherwise impervious silmaril , whilst any other race would not be able to do so , no matter any secrets learnt . however , this interpreation will adhere to the film portrayal of the arkenstone , which has it as smooth .
³ one such inscription can be seen in the film , read as : herein lies the seventh kingdom of durin’s folk . may the heart of the mountain unite all dwarrows in defense of this home .
⁴ in the film , smaug tells bilbo that the arkenstone shall corrupt thorin’s heart and thus destroy him and drive him mad . the dragon was , of course , lying , attempting to sway the loyalties of bilbo’s heart , as it had been trying to for most of the conversation , whether that scheme was lying about the arkenstone’s power , or that the dwarrows valued bilbo so little . in truth , as smaug’s powers of cleverness knew , thorin would be the one to drive himself mad over the stone , and not the stone itself .
⁵ nor did the arkenstone inspire any such madness or lust within bilbo baggins , who was in possession of the jewel for quite some time , and did not feel any such inclinations past how heavy it seemed to be in his hold :
𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚋𝚋𝚒𝚝 , 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚎𝚗 , 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚘𝚖𝚎 ( 𝚙𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝟸𝟹𝟽 ) his small hand would not close about it , for it was a large and heavy gem ; but he lifted it , shut his eyes , and put it in his deepest pocket .
⁶ it is true that those with evil intent ( forgoing the idea that mortals cannot touch silmarils , which shall not be considered for this , as it does not fit no matter how holy they may be, and appears to be an inconsistent particular ) cannot touch the silmarils lest they be burned . one must consider that bilbo baggins had no evil intent , and thus was able to carry the stone . neither did bard , who also held onto the stone for a period of time . evil intent , however , is a manner of perception ; was thrór truly being evil by his greed , or disagreeing on the payment of goods for the elves , should he believe himself in the right ? was thorin , up to a certain point in the delirium of the dragon - sickness , behaving evilly as he protected the mountain and what lay inside of it against the perceived threats ? 'til later deeds , he may have been able to hold the arkenstone , as thrór had , but his treatment of bilbo baggins after the hobbit’s betrayal would have rendered him unable to touch the arkenstone , for that was a bad , unfair act in regards to the feelings that they shared for each other ( should thorin have lived , he would not have been able to touch the arkenstone until he had made amends with bilbo and otherwise honored his word . it is possible that he may have never been able to ever touch the arkenstone at all ) .
you remember that day clearly : coming home with sweat on your brow , an ache in your heart , & fear behind your eyes . quinn was there , watching stacey & stevie . you remember your hand shaking over the door handle a second too long . recollect yourself . pick up your broken pieces & put them away . as you slowly pushed the door open , your eyes meet hers . god damn quinn fabray . you know , you remember that she hurt you , but you also know better than anyone in that glee club that she is a good person . a damn good person .
maybe her eyes connect with you too long , or maybe you’re just tired , but you start to feel water well up in the corners of your eyes . god damn quinn fabray .
you hang up on tina , brows furrowed & eyes closed . why did things get so bad ? you’re a protector , & you terribly hate when those you care about ( those you love ) are hurting . did no one think twice about her falling off the map ? were people that damn oblivious ? you curse yourself , equally aware that it’s not your fault for not knowing what was going on , & aware of the exact last time the two of you talked . where was she ? was she hurt ? should he drive back to lima ? god damn quinn fabray .
you take a deep breath , phone pulled out of your pocket , shaking fingers tapping in your password ( 0123 ) . should you text or call ? what does she need from you ? how can you show her you still care ? you always will . you locate her contact : quinn fabray 💛 ( you forgot to take out the yellow heart , she always looked so happy in yellow ) . deep breath , hold , release . you hit call . tears well up in the corners of your eyes .
𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚠𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 ? ( a character quiz )
𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐓 .
he feels like he is often overlooked , and is desperate to make something of himself . he sometimes has difficulty expressing himself to his friends , and struggles between the desire to be understood and the desire to be seen as complex and mysterious . he wants everything in his life to be tinted with romanticism , and has probably struggled with depression in the past . he is not alone , no matter how it may feel , and he should not be afraid to reach out to the people who care about him .
𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚋𝚋𝚒𝚝 , 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚎𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 , 𝚏𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜 ( 𝚙𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝟷𝟺𝟹 ) ❝ how far do you think it is ? ❞ asked thorin , for by now they knew bilbo had the sharpest eyes among them . ❝ not at all far . i shouldn’t think above twelve yards , ❞ said bilbo . ❝ twelve yards ! ❞ exclaimed thorin . ❝ i should have thought it was thirty at least , but my eyes don’t see as they used a hundred years ago . ❞
𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚋𝚋𝚒𝚝 , 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚎𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 , 𝚏𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜 ( 𝚙𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝟷𝟺𝟹 ) ❝ [ . . . ] but fíli is the youngest and still has the best sight , ❞ said thorin . ❝ come here , fíli , and see if you can see the boat mister baggins is talking about . ❞
𝚙𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚓𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚜𝚘𝚗 , 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚋𝚋𝚒𝚝 ( 𝚊𝚗 𝚞𝚗𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚓𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚢 ) [ . . . ] a young dwarf prince facing down the pale orc . his armor rent , wielding nothing but an oaken branch as a shield . blow after blow the orc delivered upon this branch , ‘til one such powerful swing drove it back into the prince’s head , sending him down to the ground . . .
dwarrows , with their preference to remain underground in the darkness¹ of their mountains where , in such subterranean conditions , little light reaches the eye , are more short - sighted than any other race in middle earth . whereas elves can look across great distances , dwarrows can see very fine details when anything is brought close to their eyes , an ability that lends itself to the unmatched workmanship that they are able to achieve with their craft . the short - sightedness of dwarrows does not hinder them much² , and while it becomes less easy to see far away with age , they are otherwise unaffected and unaware of any difficulties . their architecture and ornamentation , comprised of straight lines , large , prominent statues , stamped patterns , deeply embedded runes , and embossed beads are aspects that reflect this small lacking in their sight and ensure that the dwarrows do not need perfect vision to navigate through their realm ( flat decorations are rarely seen , if made at all ) nor would they need eyesight by itself to be able to relate to their adornments that are as physically representative ( able to be perceived through contact ) ( i.e. the rune - stone received by kíli from dís is meant to be felt as much as to be looked at ) as they are visually³ .
rare is it that a blow comes down hard enough to cause a dwarf any lasting harm , but when fighting azog the defile during the battle of azanulbizar ( 2799 of the third age ) before the gates of khazad - dûm ( moria ) , a swing of azog’s spiked mace causes the oaken branch that thorin wielded to strike backwards into his head . he falls to the ground , having received a severe enough hit to permanently deteriorate his eyesight further than what is common for a dwarf . his sword cutting off azog’s arm instead of his head is a result of this , because he could no longer see clearly enough to translate the abruptly indistinct appearance of his foe , nor was he able to see azog carried into khazad - dûm alive .
the initial adaptation was difficult the more it deteriorated , but additional practice and training , along with heightened hearing ( he has become particularly adept at hearing and recognizing sounds and when certain people are speaking ) , has him able to participate in battle with as much skill as any other warrior ( instead of direct assaults , thorin tends to twirl with his weapon or use broad upward strokes as a means to make sure that he strikes his enemy and does not fall short because he could not strike as precisely ) ( i.e. this form can be seen most notably during the escape from the goblin tunnels )⁴ . his eyesight is not so far gone that he cannot recognize shapes and surroundings , albeit distorted or faint depending on the distance between him and what he is looking at . around one meter ( sometimes a little farther , sometimes less ) is as far as he can see without having any problems , but this depends on how well - rested he is , and the distance is oftentimes less than that . thorin can see up close as crystal - clearly as his fellow dwarrows . seasons passed , and he adjusted to being able to take in less than others , not thinking much on it save for when journeying required someone with sharper eyes than his ( the distortion is not so great that he cannot commonly make these journeys by himself , which he usually does ) . his instincts serve him well and make up for what he lacks in his eyesight . save for a few strange instances that may cause the dwarrows that do not know of his disability to scratch their heads⁵ , balin , dwalin , dís , fíli , and kíli are aware and do their best to support him without tramping upon his position as leader .
amidst the mourning for the losses sustained during the battle of azanulbizar , which claimed the lives of thrór , thorin’s grandfather , frerin , thorin’s younger brother , and resulted in the disappearance of thráin , thorin’s father , his eyesight was not forefront on his mind , and was not so for awhile . indeed , it took nearly a year before he realized the change , though others around him , namely his training partner , dwalin , and vili , fíli and kíli’s father , noticed earlier , and kept a close guard around thorin . he moved on without taking a moment to grieve his eyesight , working himself nearly to the end of his fortitude to regain the skills that had left him in the wake of this impairment . he neither cursed it , nor cared so little about it that it did not make him brood , nearer and nearer to thinking himself so much lesser than his forefathers . it was a weight set atop so many others , another strain upon the dimming of his mind’s wellbeing , but one that he had no choice but to bear , even if it snuffed him out .
thorin fumbles now and then , frequently enduring humbling mishaps and pushing on regardless without letting himself or the other dwarrows take much notice . he is determined to still perform his role to the greatest of his abilities , and does not slow simply because he cannot see the path as clearly . he knows it is there , and that is enough . he will make it enough . he carries spectacles in one of his packs , but only wears them privately .
𝐎𝐂𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐒 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐁𝐄𝐋𝐎𝐖 .
𝚙𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚓𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚜𝚘𝚗 , 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚋𝚋𝚒𝚝 ( 𝚊𝚗 𝚞𝚗𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚓𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚢 ) ONE he arrived late to bag end because he could not see the mark that gandalf had left upon bilbo baggins’ door , which resulted in him becoming rather off - track . he walked up and down bagshot row twice before , on the third attempt , he drew close enough to see the mark . TWO instructing balin to lead the way when they journeyed out of rivendell was partly because balin knew it , and partly because it was unfamiliar enough that thorin did not trust himself to lead the company with his impairment and the steep fall on one side⁶ . THREE in the misty mountains , during the battle of the stone giants , thorin’s eyesight was shortened considerably with the heavy rain - fall , and he could not see whether it was fíli or kíli beside him when they were separated from half of the company . as indicated by the film’s subtitles , he does accidentally call for kíli , mistaking fíli for his brother . FOUR thorin does not realize that bilbo is not with him when they make it out of the goblin tunnels because he simply could not see well enough to notice he was not there ( one of two such accidental occurrences , and not because he disvalued bilbo’s safety ) . FIVE it cannot be . thorin says this in the tree because , until azog the defiler speaks , he cannot see that far away to ascertain whether or not it was truly him and not a different orc . SIX azog the defiler’s warg bringing thorin to the ground may look like bad form on thorin’s part , but when the warg leapt in the air , thorin could no longer tell for sure how close it was in front of him , and by the time it was close enough for him to see it , it was too late , and he had charged too near .
𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚢 ONE the ending scene with thorin looking out at erebor in the distance . he could see enough to know the shape of it against the sky , though tragically not as much as the others in the company .
𝚙𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚓𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚜𝚘𝚗 , 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚋𝚋𝚒𝚝 ( 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝚜𝚖𝚊𝚞𝚐 ) ONE the hardness of the stone path in mirkwood aided thorin in being able to lead the company for most of the way , but , as seen in the film , there are several instances that dwalin has to find the path for him if it was coated with enough greenery . TWO the longer he remained in mirkwood , the more his eyesight slacked under its enchantment , til nearly all of his surroundings were a blur , and his abrupt command for the company to follow him and stray from the path was because he could not see and felt cornered into an unwise and impulsive action . THREE thorin does not realize bilbo is missing when battling the spiders because he still could not see well enough ( the second occurrence , still as much an accident as the first , and still not because he disvalued bilbo’s safety ) . FOUR his boot stepping on the cord tied to the key before it fell down the mountainside was completely unintentional , which is why he gives bilbo the look he does before he stoops to pick it up .
𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚢 ONE the white stag . archery is thorin’s least mastered skill because of his eyesight , but that does not mean that he does not attempt it every now and then , saving it for when he is certain he would not accidentally strike others . what he sees may be distorted , but having grown accustomed to it , he is better at discerning blurry shapes and concluding where their edges are . TWO the incident with the barrels had him relying quite a lot on his instincts , but was also attributed to the culmination of his tireless training to ensure that others , including himself , would not die because of his eyesight . THREE running from smaug in erebor and the several rather treacherous leaps . most of his confidant running around can be attributed to stone sense ( explained in summary in the footnotes ) , and the several leaps he makes were ones of faith rather than knowing for certain something was there to grab .
𝚙𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚓𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚜𝚘𝚗 , 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚋𝚋𝚒𝚝 ( 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚖𝚒𝚎𝚜 ) ONE he could not see and be sure that bard held the arkenstone until kíli’s exclamation , when thorin’s face darkens with realization and his suspicions of the glowing colors that he could distinguish are validated . TWO the tragedy is that he could not see fíli’s final moments , not truly . azog and fíli were at such a distance that while he knew who was standing there and what was happening , the details , such as the last emotions on his nephew’s face before he perished , were lost to him .
𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚢 ONE throwing the ruby . it was mostly the assumption that the shapes of either fíli or kíli would catch it if he aimed it enough in their direction . he has remarkable aim that he worked diligently on throughout the decades . TWO the warning shot let loose at thranduil . a miss . he had been aiming to wound thranduil’s ride with gold - sick intent .
𝐅𝐎𝐎𝐓𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒 .
¹ dwarrows can see incredibly well in darkness , and despite his short - sightedness , this includes thorin .
² this is because of stone - sense , something that all dwarrows have . stone sense , in a summarized definition , is the dwarven ability to be able to sense the stone around them , noting where it is safe and where it is not , and using it to make their way through mountains both in general and with mining . thorin’s short - sightedness is completely unnoticeable to anyone watching him in the mountain because of how his stone - sense guides him , resonating a little more loudly than most due to his disability .
³ information was drawn in part from this post .
⁴ in regards to archery , thorin learned how to use a bow during his erebor years before his injury , and while he can only use it to a certain extent depending on the situation , he is still capable of shooting from one . that is not to say he is very good at it , however .
⁵ thorin is practiced at hiding it , and while your character and others may figure it out eventually , it is not outright apparent that he is so very short - sighted . your character and others would most likely not catch on til they are explained to by thorin , or are in a situation that reveals it because he made a blunder . he will mostly ignore the question when asked .
⁶ this is not to say that he does not lead the company over treacherous paths , which he does , only that he merely hands over his position in the front when he thinks it is necessary ( and he is not always right about when it is not ) .
to him , love is not a fixed concept . it is fluid and ever - changing , and we possess the ability to shape it around ourselves , and create rich lives filled with love of our own design . he revels in the breathtaking beauty of the concept of love . the way we shape its course in our conversations and our gifts , the things we do for one another and the thoughts we share .
RATIONALITY he likes clarity and intelligent simplicity and he gets frustrated at messy thinking . this can make him seem unreasonably pushy to some , but it is actually a virtue : he is motivated by a horror at pointless effort and a longing for precision and insight into how things and people work . his ability to synthesise and bring order is essential in producing thinking which is truly helpful .
REVERANCE one part of him dreams of giving himself up ————— perhaps just for a while ————— to a hero or mentor . in the right circumstances he can flourish by letting go of his ego . in his inner life , reverence plays out as a willing submission to his own conscience . in the outside world , he might get frustrated searching for something worth believing in ————— a country , a person , a company ————— but he will always be open to feeling respect , admiration , and wonder .
AUTHORITY he is good at making decisions ; he has a clear sense of what needs to be done and what others should be doing . played out inside himself , this tendency drives him to value willpower and self - control . he may be accused of bossiness . but acting on his desire to dissuade , restrain , or guide is often appreciated by others ————— who might secretly like a clear direction , and some firmness .
RESILIENCE he has a tendency , after a setback , to turn his emotions towards restriving . what attracts him is the idea of wiping out a humiliation by resumed action ————— overcoming weakness , repressing his fear . because part of his motive is pride , he can sometimes be unwilling to admit weakness or to receive aid . but at heart , his insistence on coming back and never folding has taught him a valuable pessimism : he knows that important journeys are never easy .
he is all grit and closed fists . he refuses to let anything in through the cracks of his armor . he would burn the world to protect those he loves . the heart of a warrior burns in his chest . it also weighs his shoulders down . what is the price for being so strong ? what has he sacrificed to make himself feel safe ? when was the last time he let someone see his soul ? when was the last time he let someone see him and not just the masks he hides behind ? not everything must be a fight .
