A is for — Aragorn and Allanon — from my two favorite book series, The Lord of the Rings and The Sword of Shannara.
Aragorn, the reluctant heir to the throne of Gondor in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Rings series, embodies honor, integrity, and courage. He may not look like much, but he is a true hero in every sense of the word. One of my favorite quotes regarding Aragorn comes from The Fellowship of the Ring, where Frodo, Sam, and Pippin are deciding whether or not to trust Aragorn.
Frodo says to Aragorn:
“You have frightened me several times tonight, but never in the way that servants of the Enemy would, or so I imagine. I think one of his spies would — well, seem fairer and feel fouler, if you understand.”
And Aragorn replies:
“I see. … I look foul and feel fair. Is that it? All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost.”
Whatever his looks, the gold of Aragorn’s character shines through as he declares, “I am Aragorn son of Arathorn, and if by life or death I can save you, I will.”
Allanon, the mysterious Druid of Terry Brooks’ Shannara series, is more the Gandalf type — a guardian of the Four Lands, who uses magic to help the descendants of Jerle Shannara fight the evil that threatens the Lands. He is the last of the Druids, tasked with, among other things, safeguarding the remnants of the written histories and destroying an evil spellbook called the Ildatch. He is a darker character, though — grim, secretive, and forbidding. None of Gandalf’s folksy charm, here.
I can still remember reading these stories — being glued to a chair for hours, living the adventures of Shea, Wil, and Brin Ohmsford and of Frodo Baggins and Sam and the Fellowship. These inspiring tales propelled me into stories of my own, much more humble, but equally thrilling to me. They will always be my favorites.
Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn
from Peter Jackson’s LOTR
Photo Credit: LOTR Wikia
The Editions I Read
Original Shannara Trilogy
Writing, Reading, and the Pursuit of Dreams 
I almost chose fictional characters as my A to Z theme and after reading your post, I wish I had. That is one of my favorite quotes from Aragorn too, actually one of my favorites from LOTR.
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I love it, too. There are so many great quotes — LOTR is timeless!
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Aaahhhh, Aragorn (swoon). I adore those movies in no small part because of him. You’ve made me want to pull my dvd out!
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I know exactly what you mean. 🙂
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I haven’t read he druid of Shannara a long time ago! Too long, I don’t recall that charactor!
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I’ve been thinking I need to reread those stories again. I’m sure there’s a lot I’ve forgotten. Thanks for the follow!
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Love Aragorn! He is such a strong character with great motivation.
Thanks for stopping by my blog today! 🙂
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And thanks for visiting mine! Looking forward to your “B” post!
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A beautiful testament to the power of the ‘Ring,’ written with heart — and with a nice connection to the writing you do!
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Thank you! I love those stories.
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Great choices, Lori! Happy A to Z-ing 🙂
-Nancy
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Thanks, Nancy! I’m loving your pie recipes!
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It’s funny, but I was just mentioning on another post that I have yet to read the Shannara books although book 1 has been sitting beside my bed for about three years now. I think it’s about time I actually read instead of just looked at the cover every night. So many books to read, I just never got around to it. Cheers!
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I know what you mean — so many books, so little time, as they say. I hope you find time to read it and enjoy it as much as I did.
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