The Arrival in Lothlórien

The Company of the Ring, having escaped the horrors of Moria and the fall of Gandalf, came at last to the eaves of Lothlórien, the Golden Wood. The night-wind blew chill as they reached the trees, and Legolas cried out in recognition: "Lothlórien! We have come to the eaves of the Golden Wood. Alas that it is winter!" Aragorn, weary and grieving, declared that here they must hope the virtue of the Elves would keep them from the peril that followed. Boromir, however, was reluctant, voicing the dark rumors of Gondor that few who entered the wood ever came out unscathed. Aragorn replied that only evil need fear it, or those who brought some evil with them, and led the way forward.

The Crossing of the Nimrodel and the Meeting with Haldir

They followed the path beside the Silverlode until they came to the stream of Nimrodel. Legolas, recalling the songs of the Silvan Elves, waded across, and the Company followed, finding the water's touch clean and healing. As they rested, Legolas sang a lament for the lost Elven-maid Nimrodel and her lover Amroth, a tale of sorrow that had come upon Lothlórien when evil was awakened in the mountains. Seeking refuge for the night, they turned aside from the path into the deeper woods. Legolas attempted to climb a great mallorn tree, but a voice from above commanded him to stop. It was Haldir, an Elf of Lothlórien, who with his brothers Rúmil and Orophin had been watching them. Haldir, speaking the Common Speech, revealed that they had heard rumors of the Company's coming from Elrond's messengers. He welcomed the hobbits and Aragorn, but was reluctant to allow the Dwarf Gimli to pass, for the Elves had not dealt with Dwarves since the Dark Days. After Legolas and Aragorn vouched for him, Haldir agreed, though Gimli was to be blindfolded through the land.

The Journey into the Naith and the Sight of Cerin Amroth

The Company was led through the forest, their eyes bound, until they reached the heart of the ancient realm. When the blindfolds were removed, Frodo beheld Cerin Amroth, a green mound crowned with two circles of trees, one of snowy white and the other of golden mallorns. The grass was studded with small golden flowers, elanor and niphredil, and the air was filled with a light for which he had no name. It seemed to him that he had stepped through a high window into a vanished world, a timeless land where no shadow lay. Samwise, standing beside him, felt as if he were inside a song. Haldir explained that they felt the power of the Lady of the Galadhrim. Aragorn, standing still and silent, was wrapped in a fair memory, and Frodo saw him as a young lord, speaking the Elvish words "Arwen vanimelda, namárië!" before returning to the present.

The City of Caras Galadhon and the Audience with the Lord and Lady

At dusk they came to the great city of Caras Galadhon, a green hill thronged with towering mallorn-trees, their branches lit with countless lights. They were led up a long ladder to a high talan, where in a chamber of oval shape, beneath the bole of the great mallorn, sat Celeborn and Galadriel. They were clad in white, and the Lady's hair was of deep gold, the Lord's of silver. Celeborn greeted each of the companions by name, expressing surprise that nine had set out but only eight had arrived. Galadriel, speaking for the first time, said that Gandalf the Grey had set out with the Company but had not passed the borders of the land. When Aragorn told of Gandalf's fall in Moria, all the Elves in the hall cried aloud in grief. Aragorn recounted the tale of the pass of Caradhras, the fight in the Chamber of Mazarbul, and the coming of the Balrog. Legolas named it a Balrog of Morgoth, and Gimli, with dread in his eyes, called it Durin's Bane. Celeborn lamented that Gandalf had gone needlessly into the net of Moria, but Galadriel rebuked him, saying that none of Gandalf's deeds were needless. She looked upon Gimli and spoke to him in his own ancient tongue, and the Dwarf, seeing love and understanding in her eyes, rose and bowed, declaring that the living land of Lórien and the Lady Galadriel were above all the jewels beneath the earth. Galadriel then spoke directly to Frodo, telling him that his Quest stood upon the edge of a knife, and that hope remained only while all the Company was true. She held them all with her eyes, searching each in turn, and then released them, bidding them sleep in peace.