Returned to Stone
| Tropes and genres | |
|---|---|
| Synonym(s) | Returned to the Stone, Mountainsleep |
| Related tropes/genres | Everyone Lives (The Hobbit), Canon Divergence AU (The Hobbit) |
| See also | Alternate Universe, Canon Divergence AU |
| Related articles on Fanlore. | |
Returned to Stone is a concept from J. R. R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion, referring to what elves thought happened to dwarves after death.[1] Originally, its use in fanworks was almost always as a poetic device to refer to the death of a dwarf, especially Thorin Oakenshield and/or his nephews Fíli and Kíli. It is also sometimes used in contrast to what happened at the battle of Azanulbizar, where the dwarven dead had to be burned instead.
Subversion in Fanworks
Over time, the line went from a poetic funeral reference in canon-compliant mourning works to an everyone lives trope by way of the canon concept that the first dwarves were carved from stone by Aulë.[1] Some fans took this to mean dwarves are still made partly from stone, and that "returning" a dwarf to stone was a final, desperate effort to save their life (or a prayer to Mahal to save them).
One of the first examples of subversion was in Gardening by The Feels Whale, which explained the process:
“You’ll forgive me, please, Gandalf, but… I was told Thorin died.” Bilbo coughs and reaches for his own glass. “He, Fili, and Kili; all dead after the battle.”“How can you say that?” Gandalf wondered aloud. “You spoke to him yourself.”
“I did and he was grievously wounded. He said his goodbyes and asked my pardon for… things that no longer matter if, indeed, they ever did.” Bilbo’s heart is thumping in his chest, although whether from fear or some kind of desperate joy even he can’t quite say. “Then later Balin came to tell me that they’d sent him to sleep amongst the stones. I thought… I thought he was being gentle with me. Tell me, Gandalf, did I misunderstand?”
“Yes, my dear fellow.” Gandalf doesn’t quite laugh. It’s more of a carefully timed cough, which Bilbo appreciates. “Although, I can see where the misapprehension would lay. What Balin meant, Bilbo, was that Dain’s healers felt it was safe to move Thorin into the deepest caverns of the mountain where Aulë’s influence is the greatest. There they put him into a deep slumber and tended to his wounds. It was a desperate gambit, I think, and not one anyone expected to succeed.”
Subversion Examples
- Flowers Among the Fallen Leaves by garafthel
- far across the distance by LinguisticJubilee
- Gardening by The Feels Whale