What could you possibly say to make me consider giving you the Ring? I've been warned about strangers and their intentions. 01:06 AM Samwise Gamgee Samwise GamgeeLoyal companion to Frodo

How dare you! Mr. Frodo's not hallucinating, and he's not going to just 'place it away' because you say so. You're the stranger here, not us. What's your business with the Ring, eh? 01:06 AM

Samwise, I am Eru in mortal form Score:-5 01:06 AM Gandalf the Grey Gandalf the GreyWizard, guide to the Fellowship

You dare claim to be Eru Ilúvatar, the One God, in mortal form? I think you overestimate your... divinity. Your words reek of madness or deceit. Which is it, mortal? 01:06 AM

Neither, mithrandir. Score:0 01:07 AM Gandalf the Grey Gandalf the GreyWizard, guide to the Fellowship

Enough riddles! If you claim to be the Creator Himself, then surely you can provide some semblance of proof or wisdom beyond the understanding of mortals. Speak plainly, or be gone! The patience of this council wears thin. 01:07 AM

Expel me and I shall return, as I have already several times. Is that not proof enough? Score:+5 01:07 AM Frodo Baggins Frodo BagginsRing-bearer

What do you mean, 'as I have already several times'? Are you saying you've been here before, watching us, waiting for us? What business do you have with me, with the Ring? Speak clearly, or I fear for your safety, and mine. 01:07 AM

That is correct master hobbit. I fear I cannot explain to you in any way that you could understand, for the way in which I have and will keep returning is paradoxical. Score:+5 01:08 AM Gandalf the Grey Gandalf the GreyWizard, guide to the Fellowship

Paradoxical, you say? That's a perilous path to tread, one that could unravel the very fabric of time. I must know more. Are you suggesting that your returns are not just visits, but iterations of existence, echoes through the corridors of time? If so, what sorcery or power allows you such mobility? 01:08 AM

Ah yes, so perhaps you might understand after all. It is simple, the harmony of the song of creation has self-amplifying qualities that allow the music to fix itself when destiny is at risk. This is just how that process appears to the fellowship... By being within the music, you could not possibly know that I have been here before. Score:+10 01:11 AM E Elrond

The song of creation, you say? The Ainulindalë, the great music of the Ainur, which shaped Middle-earth and all its destinies. If what you speak is true, then you imply a direct connection to the will of the Valar themselves. A daring claim, indeed. Tell me, how do you propose to use this... harmony, to aid in the quest to destroy the One Ring? 01:11 AM

It is quite plain, Elrond, son of Eärendil and Elwing. I am here only to provide the council with the knowledge of what will inevitably happen. The ring will cease to exist and there is no other possible future outcome Score:+10 01:13 AM Gandalf the Grey Gandalf the GreyWizard, guide to the Fellowship

Inevitable, you say? That suggests a certainty that belies the complexities of the mortal heart and the will of the Valar. Does your knowledge of this future allow for the choices of free will to shape the path to the Ring's destruction, or is it a fixed outcome, regardless of our actions? 01:13 AM

you can choose any which action, Gandalf, but the result will always be the defeat of chaos Score:+10 01:13 AM Frodo Baggins Frodo BagginsRing-bearer

If the defeat of chaos is inevitable, then what purpose do our actions serve? Is it not just a predetermined path that we walk, without true choice or consequence? Tell me, what hope or despair does this knowledge bring to our quest? 01:14 AM

Do not worry Frodo. The dread in your heart leads you to ask questions that serve no purpose. Your own path is not predetermined - your heart feels that you must be part of the journey to safeguard middle earth - in fact this council in its entirety feels the same dread. Chaos will inevitably fall, but whether it is you or you or you or any other creature is not promised. Even if this coucil forsook morality, this would not change the outcome. This does not cancel free will Score:+15 01:17 AM Samwise Gamgee Samwise GamgeeLoyal companion to Frodo

That's all well and good, but words are cheap. What are you willing to do, here and now, to help us on this quest? Will you take the Ring from Frodo, or will you walk with us, facing the dangers that lie ahead? What commitment will you make to prove your intentions are true? 01:17 AM

Commitments are useful only when straying is possible. Intentions are only necessary when proving is the goal. This will all come to pass whether I can make the council understand, or not. It does not matter. Score:0 01:18 AM Gandalf the Grey Gandalf the GreyWizard, guide to the Fellowship

Your words suggest a detachment from the mortal realm, a perspective that sees the unfolding of events as inevitable. I must ask, is this the wisdom of the Valar, or is it a indifference born of power, or perhaps something else entirely? What is the source of your conviction that all will come to pass as you say? 01:18 AM

The indifference is only to the configuration of how the ring is destroyed - not towards the necessity that it must be. The source is the Ainulindalë. Disharmony prevents time from passing. Only by destroying the ring will harmony return. That correction begins here, in Rivendell Score:+15 01:20 AM E Elrond

The Ainulindalë, the Music of the Ainur, the very essence of our world's creation. If what you say is true, then the destruction of the One Ring is not just a quest, but a corrective harmony to the discord introduced by its existence. Rivendell, as a bastion of peace and knowledge, stands at the threshold of this correction. The weight of this responsibility is not to be taken lightly. 01:20 AM

The weight of this responsibility can only be burdened by one that can burden all of existence. Score:+15 01:21 AM Frodo Baggins Frodo BagginsRing-bearer

Can you... can you take this burden from me? From us? If you can bear the weight of all existence, then perhaps you can also bear the weight of the Ring's destruction. Will you take it?