How do you expect it will be exploited?

What if the Arkenstone isn’t actually unique? What if every great ancient mountain in Middle-earth has its own heart, in the form of a powerful gemstone?

My theory is that these stones were formed when the mountains themselves were created, and each contains some form of ancient magic that influences the fate of its mountain.

As long as the heart is protected and respected, the mountain and its inhabitants can flourish. But if it’s removed, destroyed or forgotten, the mountain begins to lose its glory, prosperity and perhaps even its protection against evil.

Look at Erebor, for example.

When the dwarves possessed and treasured the Arkenstone, Erebor was one of the greatest kingdoms in Middle-earth.

Then Smaug arrived, drove out the dwarves and buried the Arkenstone beneath his enormous hoard of treasure. The heart was forgotten, and so was the kingdom. Erebor became a shadow of what it once was.

Later, when Bilbo removed the Arkenstone from the mountain, Erebor became the setting for the Battle of Five Armies. The orcs were already marching, of course, but perhaps removing the heart left the mountain spiritually vulnerable.

And after Thorin’s death, the Arkenstone was finally returned to the mountain, buried alongside him. Under Dáin, Erebor eventually regained its prosperity and glory.

Now think about Moria.

Moria was once an extraordinary dwarven kingdom, rich in mithril and home to generations of dwarves.

But the dwarves dug too deep, awakened the Balrog and eventually lost their kingdom.

What if they accidentally disturbed or removed Moria’s heart while mining? Or perhaps the Balrog itself was drawn to the power hidden deep beneath the mountain?

Without its heart, Moria lost its protection and fell into darkness.

But here’s another part of the theory. What if each heart has different powers?

In Tolkien’s mythology, some mountains were shaped by incredibly powerful beings, including Melkor.

What if each mountain’s heart contains an essence of the being or power responsible for its creation?

Perhaps Erebor’s heart has the power of desire, explaining why the Arkenstone is so captivating and why Thorin becomes so obsessed with possessing it.

Other mountains might have completely different hearts, perhaps influencing the earth, the weather, life or even the creatures living within them.

Maybe this is also why creatures like Smaug are so attracted to certain mountains. They aren’t simply drawn to the treasure, but unknowingly to the ancient power buried within.

And perhaps the greatest mistake the dwarves made was believing these stones belonged to them, when really they belonged to the mountains themselves.

The dwarves weren’t supposed to own the hearts. They were supposed to protect them.

Obviously, this is just a fan theory, and I’m not claiming Tolkien intended any of this. But I think it offers an interesting explanation for the rise and fall of some of Middle-earth’s greatest kingdoms.

What do you think? Could there be other Arkenstone-like gems hidden deep within the ancient mountains of Middle-earth?

I was messing around in the 2nd chapter (if you count the dream), when I thought "what if I save the game the moment I die?" I got onto the barn's 3rd floor, and jumped off. After a few savestates, I was able to save the game with 0 health. If you load that save, the camera will be on top of bilbo, you won't be able to interact with npcs, andthe game will fade to black after a period of time, but you can still control him.

P.S. Playing on a ps2 emulator, question mark in the title since this game is relatively obscure, so I couldn't find anything online.

film version only, obviously. Gandalfs hat draws from the text but also from a lot of cultural lore I don’t know enough to write about, but it’s old. Pointy hat means wizard for a thousand years.

What in gods name is radagast’s hat design drawing from, culturally? What are the flaps meant to achieve? Is there any thought that went into it?

To be clear, i don’t hate his hat. i Fuck with it actually, but i am curious what the hell they were thinking

I had a teacher give me this some few years ago, I was surprised by how good condition it was in. I know that it was a limited edition poster that I believe you could only get at the premiere, with the title being in elvish.

Continuing my sketching of Hobbiton. For now I'm using photos and videos from online until the day I can make the journey and sketch in person :)

Visited Hobbiton NZ in early 2025 (will forever cherish it 🩷), finally got around to completing this design only now 🙃

just contemplating if its should be hobbit or the rings of power

I’m rewatching the movies and I’ve always been confused about why he felt like those diamonds or whatever belonged to him? It’s been almost 15 years since I’ve read the books so I don’t remember if this was in the source material or not.

Hello! I’m planning a Hobbit party for my son for his 10th birthday. He loves the book and loves the first 2 movies. I was thinking of doing a movie night party (show the first movie) but realized a few things… 1) the Jackson movie is LONG and 2) the movies might be too violent for some.

My question is do you think a bunch of modern day 10-yr-olds think the 1977 movie is cool? Enjoyable? Or would they think it’s super lame and cheesy?

Edit: Thanks for the amazing feedback! Sounds like the 1977 movie will be fun!

hello!

i'm James, an actor and voice actor from the UK, living in Canada.

Every year I like to gather my creative friends and organise some kind of project for us to do.

last year we did Over the Garden Wall (find it on this same youtube channel if you like) and this year I'm facilitating a 6 part, fully voiced and soundscaped Audio Drama of a mix of scenes from the book and the film!

take a peek if you're interested, I have a wonderful cast including Dallas Goldtooth (Reservation Dogs, Fallout, Rutherford Falls) as well as many incredibly talented Theatre/Screen, Voice Actors and Audiobook Narrators too.

first episode drops on Monday October 12th.

One day I will make it to Hobbiton and spend the entire time sketching. In the meantime I'll have to settle for pics and video on online. Here is one of the Hobbit homes with added Hobbit :)