Chapter Text
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(If you skipped my notes above just know Frodo's fibbing about his age and is actually 18.)
5 Wedmath(August), SR 1360
Dear Your Majasty Mister Oakinsheild,
My name is Frodo. I am (scribble) 23 years old. I live in the Shire, but I am not a Hobbit like evryone here. I am haf Dwarf, haf Hobbit. I live with my dad. He is a Hobbit. He tels me stores about Dwarfs and tries to help me understend them, but its hard. We just red a book of your aventures. I was so egsited to here that you have been to the Shire, and no sum of Hobbits! I hope you arnt too buzy to rite to me and help me lern more abot what it means to be a Dwarf.
Thank you kindly for yur considation,
Frodo
PS - My dad wuldn't want me to buther a king, but I know your a reel hero and I don't no who else to ask for help. Please if you replay can you send yur letter in care of Merridoc Brandybuck of Buckland? I don't want make Dad cross, but I ned your help so much.
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6 Âfnarag(dark(ness) month), TA 2960
30 Blotmath(November), SR 1360
Hello Mister Frodo,
Your letter was received with some surprise on my part. Never have I heard of a half Dwarf half Hobbit before. I can only imagine how difficult it must be, to be so different from all those around you. I wish that I had known of you when I traveled to the Shire before my Company set off for Erebor. It would have been an honor to meet you.
Indeed, Dwarrow and Hobbits do have several things in common; our connection to the land and a general sense of honor and respect, maybe also a certain resiliency and strength of heart as well, knowing at least one Hobbit as I did who was as steadfast and brave as any Dwarf I've ever known.
That said, there may be no two of the nobler races of Middle Earth more different than Dwarf and Hobbit, except perhaps Dwarf from Elf of course, which could not be more distant than a diamond to a daisy.
You ask me what it means to be a Dwarf, and this is no small question. To be a Dwarf is to be as steady as the roots of the tallest mountain, and as fierce as the flames of the hottest forge. Dwarrow are deeply loyal to family and kingdom, and have an innate sense of honor that binds our society with the strongest of ties. We are crafters by our very nature, as we were crafted by Aulë himself from the stone of Arda.
Our history reaches back thousands of years to my own ancestor and the first of the Seven Fathers of the Dwarrow, Durin the First. There is much about Dwarrow culture that we hold in deepest secrecy and can only be taught directly from one Dwarf to another, but I will attempt to answer your questions to the best of my ability given the restrictions of the written word. Do you perhaps have relations of your mother who you may be able to meet in person? Do you need assistance in locating them?
It concerns me to hear that you are writing without your father's knowledge. It is a dishonor to him not to make him aware of your concerns and your actions. Inform me in your reply how you have righted this. Let him know that I am honored to have been asked for your counsel in this matter and it is no bother to me at all.
At your service,
Thorin Oakenshield
King of Erebor
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15 Foreyule(December), SR 1360
Dear King Thorin,
Thank you so much!!! Your letter is the best gift I've ever goten. I think I no what you meen by "connected to the land." I can't grow tamaytos like my dad can, but I am the best at fining every bolder in a new feeld before they plow, and I love to go deep in caves that other Hobbits are too scaredy to go in.
We have a book of the Valar that tells about Aulë but it's Elfish an only has one page about Dwarves! Shud I say Dwarrow? An pleese can you tell me more about Durin?
I told my dad about asking for help from a dwarf but he got pretty sad and said he coldn't talk to them, but that it was okay for me to get help! I don't know about my other father but he must be dead cause dad gets really really sad when I ask. He oways sayz he'll tell me when I'm older but I'm old enuf now!
Please still send your reply to Merry. He gets more mail then we do so it's better that way.
Thanks you again so much!!!
Yours truly,
Frodo
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23 Âfmuhudtuzakh(blessed green), TA 2961
27 Rethe(March), SR 1360
Dear Frodo,
Your enthusiasm warms my heart. I am glad you reached out to me to help you learn more about our heritage. I've not been blessed by Mahal with children of my own, but if I were I'd want them to have your bold spirit and thirst for knowledge.
I understand then that your Hobbit father must have been your bearer. This is not a trait that Dwarrow share and another big difference in our races. I am sorry to hear of the loss of your Dwarf sire and am honored to do what I can to fill that gap. It sounds as if you are already developing stone sense and the love that all Dwarrow feel for being surrounded by good stone.
"Dwarrow" is the proper way to refer to more than one Dwarf, or to things described as being of the Dwarrow people or culture. To be honest I've not really considered how we use the word, and it's perfectly fine to use "Dwarves" or "Dwarven" rather than "Dwarrow" but perhaps it's just a bit less, well, Dwarrow.
The story of the Valar Aulë is long and glorious. In the language he gave us, Khuzdul, we call him Mahal, the Maker. He is a smith and the greatest craftsman of the Valar. He created the Two Lamps, vessels that hold the Sun and the Moon in the sky, among many other wonders. Mahal's wife we call Kaminzabdûna(Earth Queen), also known as the Green Lady Yavanna, whom I'm sure you know much of as a resident of the Shire. Mahal's greatest creation was the Seven Fathers and their mates the Six Mothers whom he crafted from the stone of the mountains of Arda and from whom all Dwarrow are descended.
By the grace and will of Eru Ilúvatar and Mahal's own humility and wisdom his Dwarrow were granted the breath of life and given the deep places of the world to make their home. But since we were not planned to be part of Eru's great song, the Fathers and their mates were made to sleep, waiting until Eru's Elves could first be born into the world. To be Dwarrow is to know that this world is not yet truly our home. When we pass from this world we are sent to the halls that Mahal has set aside for us alone, and we will wait there until we are called upon after the Final Battle with the wicked Melkor to help rebuild Arda into a glorious home where all will be made new. There we will find our true home.
Durin, as the first of the Seven Fathers, was made to sleep deep under the holy mountain Gundabad. When he woke from the slumber of creation he was alone, unlike the other Fathers. Mahal crafted a Dwarrowdam mate for six of the Fathers and split one soul between each pair so they would be a perfect match for each other, but in Durin Mahal was well pleased and he was said to be formed whole in spirit.
He wandered alone far over the Misty Mountains and came to the great lake Kheled-zâram(Glass Lake) where he saw a sign in the water - a row of seven stars threaded like a crown over his reflection - and he took that as his sigil. I've included a patch for you from my old tunic that shows the seven starred Crown of Durin over my own oak tree, as I and all of Erebor's Kings are of the Line of Durin.
There in the mountain below Kheled-zâram Durin founded the greatest city Dwarrow have ever known; Khazad-dûm(Dwarrowdelf), now called Moria - in Sindarin it means "The Black Pit" for it is lost to us. No city has equaled its riches in all the ages. Dwarrow came from far and wide to settle there and build great halls and wonders of engineering deep into the earth. Durin was called "the Deathless" because of his exceedingly long life, nearly 2,400 years, but eventually he did die and his tomb is there in Khazad-dûm, now dark.
His long reign was a golden age of Dwarrow culture and is remembered on Durin's Day each year, a celebration that would fall somewhere in Blotmath by the Shire calendar, if I recall correctly. It falls on the first day of the last moon of Autumn and marks the first day of the Dwarrow New Year. We honor Durin by decorating our homes with blue and silver ornaments, and eating a spicy noodle dish that was said to be favored by him, among other traditions. Celebrating Durin's Day is one way you can express your Dwarrow culture. Perhaps you can speak to your father about it.
These are only the barest facts of our history. Were you to study in a Dwarrow community you would learn much more about these things as well as learning to speak Khuzdul, which cannot be taught to non-Dwarrow. Do not fear that your mixed heritage would be a hindrance. There may be some purists who would scoff, but no Dwarf could truly deny your birthright to our culture and language.
The Shire is some distance from any Dwarrow community so it may be challenging to learn in person. Perhaps with your intrepid spirit one day you will venture all the way to Erebor. I would gladly sponsor your education here if that ever came about. I often dream of returning to visit the Shire someday, but the business of restoring our kingdom under the mountain has made that impossible for some time.
I look forward to hearing from you again.
Yours,
Thorin
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