#glaurung

Glaurung

I think about the stories she heard as a young child before the Bragollach, of the monster that the elven king had driven back cowering.

Of the unimaginable dizzying shock of being trapped in the path of Glaurung’s wreckage at the age of eleven or twelve. Fires raging around her. Her mother dying before her eyes. The earth cracking around the monstrous claw of the dragon.

And her nightmares after. The half formed images of the monster that destroyed everything. That wrought her home and helped killed her people

And that moment of utter horror when decades later Morwen sees Glaurung emerging from the mists around Nargothrond. Far from a distorted or exaggerated childish fear, Glaurung,is even worse than she remembered

I find this quote so frightening in its implications for what exactly Glaurung is. We know Glaurung is not a true dragon but rather something else in the form of one, like Ungoliant is in the form of a spider.

But he laughs in the voice of Morgoth! From out of the depths of Angband beneath the earth comes the cruel amusement of Morgoth, jarringly clear in the mist covered landscape

Can Morgoth speak through Glaurung at any time? Was Glaurung created as a conduit for Morgoth or are they simply entwined and this is a residual effect?

Does Morgoth see through his eyes? Did he look down at the sprawling armies or the Nírnaeth through Glaurung and direct his own side from that? Did he force Húrin to see with him as Glaurung watched Morwen and Niënor approach from afar?

A dragon is riding a trolley at full speed. You are in charge of the lever which controls the tracks. If you pull the lever, it will kill your sister. If you don't pull the lever, it will kill your wife. What do you do?

art by NimlothTheFair_