Tuesday, January 25, 2022

Behind The Eyes Of Elves

 From Gamerant:

Elves don’t sleep in the traditional manner of men or hobbits. When he, Gimli and Aragorn, are tracking Merry and Pippin, who have been taken by the Uruk-hai, Legolas is described as sleeping with his ‘eyes unclosed, blending living night and deep dream, as is the way of the elves.’ It is worth noting that in all of the 3 films, we never see Legolas sleeping. He, like many others of his kind, is able to send his mind into another realm, a sort of hypnotic state, whilst his body is still awake and active. The quote "he could sleep, if sleep it could be called by men, resting his mind in the strange paths of Elvish dreams, even as he walked, open-eyed in the light of this world."

This rare and uncanny gift allows him to be a phenomenal lookout whilst the others sleep around the fire, as he is able to both keep watch and recharge his batteries in the restful domain behind his open eyes. He is shown pacing, singing softly to himself and watching the stars turn into morning whilst the other two earn some much-needed recuperation after the day's orc pursuit.

Lots of questions arise about whether this is something inherent to elven DNA or lineage, or whether this is a skill that has been learned across their many immortal years. It is a valuable skill in the light of the many great battles that have been fought across Middle Earth, for it would allow soldiers to keep fighting and protecting their kingdoms whilst still catching the rest they need to survive. It is possible that one other among the fellowship has been blessed with learning how to enter this secret sleep realm of the elves. (Read more.)
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