Melkor's Letters: Bilbo Leaves the Shire (and his Peculiarities)

This is what we have feared and dreaded.

23 September 3001 TA

My Servant Lord Sauron,

It has come to our attention that Bilbo has left the Shire after giving up the One Ring. We tried to have him keep the Ring. But instead, you let Bilbo give it up and run off to Rivendell to write his book. This means your control over him will wane. Bilbo will be set free from our control of his desires, especially his growing desire of the Ring.

This is what we have feared and dreaded. We had seen this coming, but we didn’t know it was going to be that soon. There are a lot of things peculiar about Bilbo and Frodo. According to the other hobbits, he is considered very unusual in many ways. Bilbo held your Ring for 60 years, and there were a lot of consequences we call “advantages” that really stirred up a lot of the other hobbits. For example, they found his youthful looks very peculiar, being much the same at 90 as he was at 50. Bilbo also was able to become invisible whenever he wanted. This was also our doing, as it was with Gollum when he had the Ring. They loved this, as no one could see them when they wore the Ring during their respective times with it. This frees them up to our schemes, such as thieving! We rejoice in this matter!

Meanwhile, last night was fabulous! But I hated every minute of it just as much as I hated the Spring of Arda in the First Age. Hobbits having parties and celebrating? Ugh. This was why I ended the Spring of Arda. However, one good thing came out of it: Bilbo last used it to become invisible at his party last night, and it startled all the hobbits! This is because he didn’t know our powers. He didn’t know the Ring was your Ring. That was, until Gandalf asked Bilbo to give it up shortly after, as he suspects something peculiar about your Ring. We still left him ignorant of the similarities of Bilbo’s Magic Ring and your One Ring, as ignorance is bliss, especially when it comes to the Ring. We were so close to seeing Bilbo claim it as his own! We even got Bilbo thinking that Gandalf wanted the Ring for himself.

See, our Enemy views Bilbo’s and Frodo’s “uniqueness” as the main reason why they can be Ringbearers for so long. Their adventurous spirits allowed them to be up for challenges such as claiming Lonely Mountain or taking the Ring to Mordor. Most Hobbits wouldn’t be up for such tasks. Bilbo is a descendant of the Tooks, who were known for their adventurous tendencies. But even his adventurous spirit is different from any other Took. This was also very unlike most Hobbits. Most Hobbits were like his father, Bungo Baggins, or even Bilbo himself before Gandalf invited him on adventures.

In addition, they would also be found going off to visit the Elves and Dwarves, and this desire is needed for such adventures. This is highly revered by our Enemy, so much that they have distinct titles. Thranduil finally calls Bilbo an “elf-friend” at the end, though they saw signs of it long before. Bilbo was always off visiting the Dwarves, which was why Gandalf went along with him to Lonely Mountain. They had developed a habit of visiting the Elves and Dwarves, especially as Bilbo got back from his adventures.

I made sure Bilbo knew about his peculiarities. Our work is cut out, as the other hobbits think he and Frodo are peculiar and weird. That is in their customs. Each of the types of subjects – the Elves, Dwarves, Men, and Hobbits – they have a culture and a custom that they would follow. For example, the Elves were meant to be ethereal and have a ton of wisdom and knowledge, while the Dwarves were meant to be tough grinders, but also be rowdy and fun. Sure, the Dwarves were made by a Vala, Aulë, who couldn’t wait. But once he presented them to our Enemy, he forgave this subject and claimed the Dwarves as his own children. The Men were meant to be mortal, as that is the gift of our Enemy as they would mature and grow weary much quicker than the Elves. The Elves’ immortality was also a gift from our Enemy. In addition to all that, they would also each have their own languages.

Now that I have made my point about customs, let’s stick to the custom of the Hobbits. The Hobbits are meant to never go on any adventures or do anything out of the norm of what Hobbits usually do, which is to stay in their cozy little holes and do the same thing day in, and day out: smoking, farming, and gardening. They would also speak the same language, the Common Speech. However, our Enemy made each creature in his unique design, which means that some Elves…or Dwarves…or Men…or Hobbits (in this case) would cross over into the design and customs of the other types of subjects. I convinced them that Bilbo’s early life was quiet and comfortable in Bag End, so why go now? Bilbo also knew Elvish and was passionate about it. This would aid him in his writings about his adventures. He was also willing to teach it to Frodo and Sam. But for what? See, our Enemy made him a unique kind of hobbit as he did all the other ones. While technically, hobbits are descendants of Men, our Enemy also created them too. So, he also created Hobbits. But with that came the customs. But he created Bilbo in the manner that he was meant to have different desires than the average hobbit. He is a hobbit, not an elf or dwarf, and our goal is to remind him of that.

Finally, we would have to change our main subject from Bilbo to Frodo, as Frodo now has the One Ring. Frodo could hardly wait to inherit his cousin’s place! And meanwhile, your Ring is laying somewhere over there. But we are very busy.

Your master,

Melkor Morgoth