In my mind, Hollin has always been a lovely place, even in its abandonment. I have images of the wild holly trees growing there, sheltering birds behind their dark thorny leaves and feeding them with their cheery red berries. In its day Hollin (Erigion in the elven tongue) shone with the glory of the Noldor. Celebrimbor and his elves came there in 750SA, (second age) drawn by the find of Mithril in Moria. These Elves formed an alliance with the Dwarves of Moria together forging many fair things. It was here, in Hollin, that the Great Rings were forged - rings that nearly matched the craftsmanship of the Similrilli.

Hollin flourished for 950 years until Sauron, in his rage that the Elves would refuse to use The Three - choosing instead to hide them, destroyed it. From this time forward it remained a wild place where the birds and the beasts lived and through which a few strange folk, such as rangers, would pass. But, no people ever settled Hollin again.

From Rivendell, it takes the Fellowship a fortnight, traveling by night 232 miles over rough terrain, to reach the borders of Hollin. Topping the ridge that is the northern border of Hollin, the company basks in the change of weather. The wind, which has been out of the north, shifts around to come from the south and the sun, which had been hidden by clouds all this time, makes a pale appearance. To the east lie the peaks that cover Moria. Gandalf informs the fellowship that they will rest here for the day and the night for, he says, Hollin is a wholesome place. No place where the elves have lived ever completely forgets them. True, but says Legolas; "...the trees and the grass do not remember them. Only I hear the stones lament them: 'deep they delved us, fair they wrought us, high they builded us; but they are gone.' They are gone. They sought the Havens long ago."

The company makes a hopeful breakfast even allowing themselves a fire in a hollow beneath the Holly. They linger and take their ease bantering with a restless and troubled Aragorn who has observed that the only signs of life in the valley are the fellowship themselves. Eventually the company settles to sleep leaving Sam the first watch. He is joined by a sleepless Aragorn.

In the end, the hoped for overnight rest was not to be. During the first watch, large flocks of birds are seen flying low over the valleys and ridges looking as though they are spying out the land. Aragorn wakes Gandalf to tell him about the cerbain and inform him that they must leave that night. "Hollin is no longer wholesome for us." The company remains in hiding the remainder of the day watching as the dark birds occasionally pass over.

At dusk they set out, steering their course towards Caradhras. The moon is full and they pass, along the main road, through the tumbled ruins of the stones wrought by the elves so many years before. In the early hours of morning but still before the dawn, a shadow, that makes Frodo shiver, passes swiftly over the stars. At Frodo's question, Gandalf says that he felt rather than saw something, perhaps he suggests, it was just a wisp of a cloud. "It was moving fast then," muttered Aragorn, "and not with the wind."