Tuesday, 27 October 2015

lord of the rings - How did Shadowfax 'appear' when Gandalf summoned him?

Gandalf never reveals all of his powers, but some sort of telepathy is clearly one of them.




"I bent my thought upon him, bidding him to make haste; for yesterday he was far away in the south of this land. Swiftly may he bear me back again!"




And Hasufel and Arod were with him because they had run off just the night before to hang out!




"Now I understand a part of last night's riddle," said Legolas as he sprang lightly upon Arod's back. "Whether they fled at first in fear, or not, our horses met Shadowfax, their chieftain, and greeted him with joy. Did you know that he was at hand, Gandalf?"




(These two quotes are out of order for the sake of the question, and are both from Book 3, Chapter 5: The White Rider in The Two Towers)



As Jimmy Shelter points out below, this ability is not limited to just animals. When Frodo is on Amon Hen and puts on the ring to escape Boromir, Sauron sees him. But:




Then as a flash from some other point of power there came to his mind another
thought: Take it off! Take it off! Fool, take it off! Take off the Ring!




At that moment, Gandalf is in Lothlorien, and when telling his story in Return of the King:




Very nearly it was revealed to the Enemy, but it escaped. I had some part in that: for I sat in a high place, and I strove with the Dark Tower; and the Shadow passed.




As additional evidence of Gandalf's powers of telepathy, he also reads Frodo's mind while the latter is unconscious and recovering in Rivendell after barely escaping the Nazgul:




"You have talked long in your sleep, Frodo," said Gandalf gently, "and it has not been hard for me to read your mind and memory. Do not worry! Though I said ‘absurd’ just now, I did not mean it. I think well of you – and of the others. It is no small feat to have come so far, and through such dangers, still bearing the Ring."




(Book 2, Chapter 1: Many Meetings in The Fellowship of the Ring, emphasis is mine.)

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