As mentioned, the next place Omar shows up in my story is as Wormtongue.
In Wormtongue, we find Omar doing exactly what he did in Thingol's court first, and then with Dior: arranging affairs to his advantage, using all of his subtly, cunning, and even the power of his voice and words to do so. Even though his powers have been significantly diminished, he remains dangerous, and it would take Gandalf himself, revealing himself as the White Wizard in a display of power, to break his spell.
His mask is not so fair as it once was, however, and it is even made worse that he now lives among a people who prize heroic deeds, even heroic deaths, above all else. Omar has no such bravery. As mentioned, even as Dairon, while the greatest minstrel, he did no great deeds himself. Thus, in this guise more of the 'simple' people of Rohan who he looked down on would see him for what he was (and even give him the name Wormtongue).
This shouldn't be surprising that the Rohirrim could see this. I believe Elves and other Beings of Power (Eowyn being one of them) were already being born among these people as Men. Faramir's discussion with Frodo in Ithilien seems to hint at this as he remarks on the ascendency of those people, even as the Men of Gondor were declining. I don't think this was any different in Thingol's court necessarily - it doesn't seem that Dairon got along with many people at all, besides those who he was scheming with.
It also shouldn't be a surprise that we see Omar-Dairon show up in the events of the LOTR. The stakes are high, and we see many Beings of Power entering the story in all sorts of guises and positions to take part in this period. Omar would have also done so. I believe he would have been made aware that part of Heaven's plan was for Ilmare to be born as Eowyn and that he would have positioned himself to try and take advantage of this. She was the object of his strategy, as Gandalf correctly noted, and this has been so from a time long before this one, extending back to the very beginning.
I won't recount how the story goes, as its fairly common knowledge, but things obviously didn't work out well for Wormtongue and he left this part of the drama in a particularly dark and degraded state. I will make just a few observations, though...
First, it would seem strange that a Being of great power like Omar-Dairon would become a servant of Saruman, and allow himself to be so degraded by the end of LOTR. I think Omar didn't understand just how much things had changed for him following Doriath, as well as the fact that in being born as a Man, he was just not at the same level of power as Saruman, who came from Valinor still possessing the powers of a Maia. My guess is that, in a best case scenario, he hoped to do to Saruman what he also did to Thingol, but Saruman was just too powerful. In this situation, however, hope still remained for him if his designs with Eowyn were successful, or at least that is what he perhaps thought. That obviously didn't happen, with Eowyn, Theoden, and everybody else set free of Wormtongue's treachery by Gandalf himself. After that, he was done for in this role, and his path to full degradation was a done deal.
Second, there are details in the encounter between Gandalf and Wormtongue that I find interesting, given who I believe Wormtongue is. They are subtle enough that that would be missed, but I think noticeable once you believe that this is actually Omar-Dairon-Brigham. There are two I will highlight.
In the confrontation between them, Gandalf says the following to Wormtongue:
The wise speak only of what they know, Grima son of Galmod. A witless worm you have become. Therefore be silent, and keep your forked tongue behind your teeth. I have not passed through fire and death to bandy crooked words with a serving-man till the lightning falls.
Lighting is indeed summoned by Gandalf, or at least a flash of light like lightning, that makes Wormtongue fall to the ground.
It is a curious reference and series of actions, on its own, but I actually think the true significance of Gandalf's comment and actions can be found, strangely, in the words of Joseph Smith in D&C 85.
In that section, you have a mention of a 'mighty and strong' one who will be sent to set his Father's house in order - all those whose names are found written. I take this to currently to be Joseph of Egypt-Dior. I have also thought whether this could also be the Holy Ghost-Eonwe-Faramir, but I currently lean toward Joseph as my best guess for a few reasons. In any case, it will be one of these two, because it will be their family (the Family of Light) that they are arranging inheritances for.
Following this, another Being is mentioned - someone who:
... was called of God and appointed, that putteth forth his hand to steady the ark of God, shall fall by the shaft of death, like as a tree that is smitten by the vivid shaft of lightning.
It then goes on to describe this Being and others as not having their names listed anymore in that book. As I have written in earlier posts, Omar-Brigham's name will be blotted out and he will find himself in this situation. I also believe he is the Being that is made specific mention of in this passage in D&C 85, the one who will fall by a shaft of lightning. I will elaborate a little more on this point in a later post when I take Omar-Brigham back the beginning, so I just wanted to introduce that here: That he is the one that will fall by lightning.
Thus, going back to Gandalf's words, I think you have a prophecy being spoken here as well as a show of power that demonstrates what Wormtongue's ultimate fate will be. It is sealed, though he will be allowed to run amok over several more forays into this world, seeking to delay and frustrate Heaven's plans.
The other quick thing I wanted to mention is the reference to Wormtongue's thefts. Hama recovers Theoden's sword, which had been stolen by Wormtongue. He also find, however, many other things in Wormtongue's chest that "men have missed" Wormtongue stole many, many things apparently, and this is one of his calling cards or attributes of his Being: he is a thief. He will steal records, words, artifacts of power, possessions, etc., for his own gain, and this snake has done so in all incarnations of himself, from Omar up through Brigham.
In my next post, I will talk a bit more about connecting Brigham to Omar-Dairon, and then I will cover what I closed with in my storyline in terms of his desire to be the chosen one. From there I will go into Thingol a bit more and why he is so important. That is the plan at least - so maybe 2-3 more posts on this train of thinking and we will see where things go from there. Maybe writing on happier topics.
No comments:
Post a Comment