The Dwarves have returned to Middle Earth.
They intend to retake Moria once again against seemingly insurmountable odds.
Since the reboot of this blog, Ive tried to only use minis with the realistic 28mm proportions (Darksword, Perry). I needed Dwarves that would fit in. So, here we have Kev White minis from Hasslefree Miniatures! Oh, actually they have been in this blog before and had a few battles under their belt before they were sold in an earlier purge. So while the models themselves were recently purchased and painted, from a fluff point of view, they have "returned".
Clan Hasslefree in all their glory!
The old fluff on our blog didnt put names to these Dwarves, so with this post, we will remedy this injustice and name the champions.
Left to Right: King Gourd, Balzac the Armorer
King Gourd has a Frostfang. A powerful runesword that negates enemy To-Save. Enemies beware!
A gourd is a pumpkin or a squash. So "out of his gourd" would mean... he's crazy because he misplaced his squash?
Balzac the Armorer: This is the way.
Left ot Right: Strummer the Slayer, Princess Inga, Brock the Brewmaster
Strummer the Slayer got all lost in the supermarket and could no longer shop happily. Princess Inga is the daughter of King Gourd. Brock the Brewmaster swore an Oath of Mug Holding and has been holding that mug for years, even in the midst of battle!
Left to Right: Lumpy the Librarian, Thimbold the Grey, Phoebe priestess of Valaya
Lumpy carries the history of Clan Hasslefree and has several Books of Grudges. Thimbold is another Grey Wizard in a long line of Grey Wizards. Phoebe is the priestess of Valaya the Dwarven goddess of Protection.
The royal family. Like father, like daughter, they do love to brandish their weapons up high. And probably reciting an ancient grudge or two.
Brock the Brewmaster is reunited with Butters the Beer Cart Pony. Brock gives Butters a sugarcube for a treat. There, there, now. Good boy, Butters.
It is told that in their beginning the Dwarves were made by Aule in the darkness of Middle-earth; for so greatly did Aule desire the coming of the Children, to have learners to whom he could teach his lore and his crafts, that he was unwilling to await the fulfilment of the designs of Iluvatar. And Aule made the Dwarves even as they still are, because the forms of the Children who were to come were unclear to his mind, and because the power of Melkor was yet over the Earth; and he wished therefore that they should be strong and unyielding. But fearing that the other Valar might blame his work, he wrought in secret: and he made first the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves in a hall under the mountains in Middle-earth.
Now Iluvatar knew what was done, and in the very hour that Aule's work was complete, and he was pleased, and began to instruct the Dwarves in the speech that he had devised for them, Iluvatar spoke to him; and Aule heard his voice and was silent. And the voice of Iluvatar said to him: 'Why hast thou done this? Why dost thou attempt a thing which thou knowest is beyond thy power and thy authority? For thou hast from me as a gift thy own bring only, and no more; and therefore the creatures of thy hand and mind can live only by that being, moving when thou thinkest to move them, and if thy thought be elsewhere, standing idle. Is that thy desire?'
Then Aule answered: 'I did not desire such lordship. I desired things other than I am, to love and to teach them, so that they too might perceive the beauty of Ea, which thou hast caused to be. For it seemed to me that there is great room in Arda for many things that might rejoice in it, yet it is for the most part empty still, and dumb. And in my impatience I have fallen into folly. Yet the making of thing is in my heart from my own making by thee; and the child of little understanding that makes a play of the deeds of his father may do so without thought of mockery, but because he is the son of his father. But what shall I do now, so that thou be not angry with me for ever? As a child to his father, I offer to thee these things, the work of the hands which thou hast made. Do with them what thou wilt. But should I not rather destroy the work of my presumption?'
Then Aule took up a great hammer to smite the Dwarves; and he wept. But Iluvatar had compassion upon Aule and his desire, because of his humility; and the Dwarves shrank from the hammer and wore afraid, and they bowed down their heads and begged for mercy. And the voice of Iluvatar said to Aule: 'Thy offer I accepted even as it was made. Dost thou not see that these things have now a life of their own, and speak with their own voices? Else they would not have flinched from thy blow, nor from any command of thy will.' Then Aule cast down his hammer and was glad, and he gave thanks to Iluvatar, saying: 'May Eru bless my work and amend it!'
But Iluvatar spoke again and said: 'Even as I gave being to the thoughts of the Ainur at the beginning of the World, so now I have taken up thy desire and given to it a place therein; but in no other way will I amend thy handiwork, and as thou hast made it, so shall it be. But I will not suffer this: that these should come before the Firstborn of my design, nor that thy impatience should be rewarded. They shall sleep now in the darkness under stone, and shall not come forth until the Firstborn have awakened upon Earth; and until that time thou and they shall wait, though long it seem. But when the time comes I will awaken them, and they shall be to thee as children; and often strife shall arise between thine and mine, the children of my adoption and the children of my choice.'
Since they were to come in the days of the power of Melkor, Aule made the Dwarves strong to endure.
Therefore they are stone-hard, stubborn, fast in friendship and in enmity, and they suffer toil and hanger and hurt of body more hardily than all other speaking peoples; and they live long, far beyond the span of Men, yet not for ever.
Aforetime it was held among the Elves in Middle-earth that dying the Dwarves returned to the earth and the stone of which they were made; yet that is not their own belief. For they say that Aule the Maker, whom they call Mahal, cares for them, and gathers them to Mandos in halls set apart; and that he declared to their Fathers of old that Iluvatar will hallow them and give them a place among the Children in the End. Then their part shall be to serve Aule and to aid him in the remaking of Arda after the Last Battle. They say also that the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves return to live again in their own kin and to bear once more their ancient names: of whom Durin was the most renowned in after ages, father of that kindred most friendly to the Elves, whose mansions were at Khazad-dum.
~~~
Id forgotten the biblical tone that the Silmarillion was written in. And Im glad to be reminded of the reason there is enmity between Dwarves and Elves. Its not personal, its in their creation.Those hoity-toity elves thought they were the first born. Nope, technically you were 2nd born, my long eared buddies...
Cheers,
Mar
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