Shadowfax
| ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg)
|
![[42.6S, 53.1W]](/wiki/File:Wold_map.jpg){kind=link}
Description
Shadowfax is the Leader of the Mearas. During the session play Discovering the Descendant he is found with Gandalf at the wide fields of the Wold.
Shadowfax did originally belong to Théoden, but was too wild to be tamed and the less to accept a rider. He was Gandalf's choice when king Théoden wanted the wizard to be gone, and since then Gandalf is Shadowfax's rider.
Lore
The Mearas were animals brought to Middle Earth from Valinor by Oromë (whom the Rohirrim call Béma).
Shadowfax was capable of comprehending human speech.
Shadowfax would not tolerate a bridle or saddle. He carried Gandalf by his own choice.
Originally belonging to the House of Eorl, Lord of Rohan, Shadowfax was too wild to be tamed by the Rohirrim.
After Gandalf escaped from his prison atop Orthanc, he fled to Edoras. When asked by a suspicious Théoden to take any horse and be gone, Gandalf chose Shadowfax (much to the King's displeasure), and used the great steed's speed to cross the vast wilderness between Rohan and the Shire in only six days. He dismissed the horse shortly before arriving in Rivendell and Shadowfax returned to Rohan. (After the fall of Saruman, Théoden officially gave Shadowfax to Gandalf.
During 'The Council of Elrond' (Fellowship of the Ring), while Gandalf was imparting the adventure that made him miss Frodo's birthday party, he gave the following description of Shadowfax:
- "And there is one among them that might have been foaled in the morning of the world. The horses of the Nine cannot vie with him; tireless, swift as the flowing wind. Shadowfax they called him. By day his coat glistens like silver; and by night it is like a shade, and he passes unseen. Light is his footfall! Never before had any man mounted him, but I took him and tamed him..."
Shadowfax may have been more than a mere reincarnation of one of the Mearas, he may have been one of the lesser Maiar sent to Middle-earth to help with Gandalf's mission. This would explain Gandalf's affinity with Shadowfax and the his ability to be within whistling distance of Gandalf anytime he was needed, and his stamina to travel from Rohan to Minas Tirith without any pit stops along the way, hardly even breaking into a sweat at journey's end.
Shadowfax's ground speed rivalled the flying speed of the fell beasts of the Nazgûl.
- "[Gandalf on Shadowfax] moved with the speed of an arrow and grew as it came, converging swiftly with the flight of the four men towards the Gate [of Gondor]." — The Return of the King, The Siege of Gondor
- "[...] all fled before his face. All save one. There waiting, silent and still in the space before the Gate, sat Gandalf upon Shadowfax: Shadowfax who alone among the free horses of the earth endured the terror, unmoving, steadfast as a graven image in Rath Dínen." — The Return of the King, The Siege of Gondor
Etymology
The name Shadowfax is an Anglicized form of Rohirric Sceadu-faex 'having shadow-grey mane (and coat)'. It does not actually occur in Old English. Fax is an obsolete English word. — J.R.R. Tolkien, "Nomenclature of The Lord of the Rings" in Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, pp. 762-3
Quest Involvement
- [75] Instance: Discovering the Descendant - Session play
- [82] Instance: The Treasure of Rohan
- [95] Volume III, Book 14, Chapter 2, Instance: Allies Unexpected
- [100] Volume IV, Book 2, Chapter 2, Instance: Too Far from the City
- [100] A Father Ailing
- [105] Volume IV, Book 8, Chapter 4, Instance: The Black Gate
- Year 9 Tales: Gandalf - LOTRO Anniversary Celebration