The Battle of the Pelennor Fields is won; Faramir, Eowyn, and Merry rest in the Houses of Healing after Aragorn's ministrations, and Theoden lies in state in Minas Tirith, his death making Eomer King of Rohan. All this, and the reunion of Pippin, Gimli, and Legolas with their fellows, save Sam and Frodo, is cause for celebration, yet the War is not over. Aragorn, refusing to enter his city until Sauron is defeated, has convened a Council of War in his tent on the outskirts of Minas Tirith. All the commanders are there--foremost among them besides Aragorn himself being Gandalf, Eomer, and Prince Imrahil of Dol Amroth. The Council first agrees to be led by Gandalf, who proposes the strategem that what troops can be spared march on the Black Gate itself in Mordor, not with the hope of winning, but in an effort to draw Sauron's eye away from Frodo. He reminds the men that Sauron cannot conceive that anyone might want to destroy the Ring, and since they cannot win by force of arms, subterfuge of this nature is their only recourse. Aragorn supports Gandalf's plan, and Eomer and Imrahil support Aragorn. Among their slim advantages--Sauron's fear of Aragorn, who has shown himself to the Dark Lord in the palantir.

And so begins the last desperate gamble in the War of the Ring--the effort of a mere seven thousand soldiers to march on Mordor and hold on long enough to give the Ringbearer his slender chance for success. Imrahil laughs bitterly, calling their endeavor the greatest jest in the history of Gondor, and wondering that Sauron will not laugh aloud at them. Gandalf tells him Sauron will not smile, and Aragorn adds "Neither shall we. If this be jest it is too bitter for laughter. Nay, it is the last move in a great jeopardy, and for one side or the other, it will bring the end of the game. Then he drew Anduril and held it up glittering in the sun. You shall not be sheathed again until the last battle is fought."

You can almost feel, almost smell, the mixture of courage, hope, stark fear, and determination.

Far away in Mordor itself, Frodo and Sam, having escaped from Cirith Ungol, are looking from the Morgai across to Mt. Doom, surveying Sauron's massive encampments and wondering how they will ever get to the Cracks of Doom. It will be at least a week's march, and Frodo knows the burden of the Ring will become heavier and harder to resist the closer he gets. Their food is running low as well. They must travel on the same road the orcs use, although it is exceedingly dangerous for them, and as if that is not bad enough, when Sam makes a trek to find water, he sees that Gollum is tracking them again. He sums up their dire predicament well when he says, "Isn't enough to have orcs by the thousand without that stinking villain coming nosing around.?"

Yet the overriding theme for both the hobbits and the Captains of the West is grim determination to give their all to the end, and overlaying that, an almost desperate trust in hope. It is all any of them have left, besides their own honor and belief in that which is good.

Today we take a look at the assault on the North, this time in Erebor. In his massive attacks on the cultures of Middle-earth, Sauron was not going to overlook a thing. Every stronghold of the free peoples was being targeted in the Dark Lord's attempt to leave no stone unturned in their annihilation. Today the North pays dearly for the price of their freedom from the Enemy.

In The New Tolkien Companion, Tyler wrote...

Meanwhile from Cirith Ungol, a very strange turn of events. The Orc Shagrat has wrestled free the precious treasure that he is determined to present to Sauron - the wonderful prizes of Frodo's cloak, mail-shirt, and sword without ever knowing that the true prize eludes him. It is safe for a time with Sam. What do you suppose Sauron, in all his evil wisdom, thought when receiving these tantalizing yet truly worthless tokens? The reader is left to wonder how the great Sauron was so completely duped by the diversion of Aragorn and the Host, that he paid so little heed to the meaning of the treasures brought by Shagrat from Cirith Ungol. Where was the Ring?

Today is yet another one of those days where even small things that happen carry great significance. In one simple gesture, Frodo and Sam show us that they are at the end of their rope. They are singularly focused on the destruction of the Ring and the burden of that task has taken its toll. All Sam can do for Frodo at this point is to care for him in any way possible that allows him to continue his quest. The journey now looks like a one way trip. The journey has a 'there', but the 'back again' appears impossible. So Sam lightens the load. As he tosses their gear into a ravine, his heart is broken at the sound of his pots and pans clattering away into the deep. It is as if he has bid farewell to the Shire.

Of equal significance is Aragorn's continuing journey, not just towards the Black Gate and confrontation with Sauron, but his own personal journey from Man to King. In one simple empathetic act, he gives honor to those who succumb to the horror of the sight of Mordor, while still rallying the hope of the stalwart and encouraging the hearts of all. In releasing the fearful to lesser duties in the defense of Cair Andros, I have to agree with Kocher who says... "Characteristically, he has done it with pity for weakness but without giving up the principle that duty requires those to go on who can."

"From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be King."

We must not forget that the Ring War extended throughout the north of Middle Earth, engulfing Men and Elves everywhere they lived. One of the most hotly contested areas was around Dale in the North--erstwhile home of Smaug and stronghold of the Lake Men. The battles involved the Dwarves of Erebor, Thorin Oakenshield's people, as well. On this date, King Bard II and Thorin III Stonehelm, who inherited when their fathers Brand and Dain were killed, routed the Easterling troops of Sauron.

Lórien, although portrayed as always serene, majestic and ethereal, historically sat between a rock and a hard place. Sandwiched as it were, in between two great evils, the borders were guarded with the utmost vigilance in order to protect this jewel...this 'Dream-flower'. The Elves were noted for their disdain of the Dwarves who delved too deeply into the depths of Moria and awakened the Balrog so that Moria, which lay to the west of Lórien, became altogether evil and continuously threatened the western borders of the home of the Galadrim.

To the east of Lórien lay Mirkwood and in the Third Age, the evil there grew to new heights, literally, when Sauron himself raised the tower of Dol Guldur and inhabited it for a time. The eastern borders of Lórien became even more treacherous than the western borders. All of this came to a climax as Lórien was assaulted in three major attacks at the height of the War of the Ring. The Elven forces were ultimately victorious, aided undoubtedly by the destruction of the Ring far to the South in Mordor.

Now in one final mighty gesture, Celeborn Lord of Lórien crosses the Anduin and lays waste to Dol Guldur along with the Lady Galadriel who personally reduces the tower and pits to rubble. No longer would Mirkwood be a place of darkness and fear.