The Gulper (S. "Manadhlódir" or "Swimmer of Fate") or Eath was a Maia that could take the shape of a giant fish. It would then swallow any seamen that came by its domain. Because of its affinity for seamen, the Eath was named "The Gulper" by Hobbits and other natives.Both, Hobbits and Rivermen however were ignorant of the fact of the Eath and the Gulper being one and the same.The Eath was generally believed to be an "Elvish Wight" while the Gulper was seen as a gigantic fish that swallowed thieves and wastrels whole if they paddled their boats down the river.
The Eath[]
As the Eath He served as a guardian spirit, protecting the Girdley Island and tending its trees.It wass powerful beyond even the knowledge of even the Elves with whom he occasiondly danced in the glades; he might have been, in fact, be the spirit of the Baranduin personified, though no one had drawn such information from him in living memory. The Eath usually took the form of an Eriadorian or Silvan youth or maiden, blond, young, beautiful, whatever form might be most appeding to any strangers it encountered. When the Eath was attacked or accosted in an unfriendly manner, torn clothing or skin revealed beneath it the slippery green skin of a river fish. The Eath's fana, when he was angered, became muscular and masculine, regardless of his adopted form, and his eyes turned black and hard as a serpent's. The spirit did not press an attack against intruders, preferring to frighten them off. If hard-pressed, the Eath ran behind a tree or a boulder and vanished into the rock of the island. If his opponents fled, he was indifferent in the pursuit and did not, in any circumstance, enter the village of South Cove. If serious violence had been done against anyone on the island, the Eath miught take the form of the Gulper and exact revenge in this form.The Eath could pick up a weapon if it appealed to his sense of irony.
The Gulper[]
The Gulper was actually another form of the Eath. The Eath's lair was a tidy, if somewhat barren, cavern beneath the island, unreachable by mortals. When the Eath took on the guise of the Gulper, he emerged from the rock face beneath the runes on the West Girding in the form of a great, swollen fish larger then a farm wagon. In appearance, the Gulper combined, in distorted form, many of the less graceful features of the carp, pike, and catfish. Few folk stalked by the Gulper ever got a clear look at it; even fewer survived the experience. The Gulper was seldom visible save as a shadow beneath the water. When the fish attacked something on the surface, it distended its mouth to an impossible size, engulfing even good-sized canoes in a giant swirl of water. Thusly did the Eath exact a penalty from those who disrupted life on his carefully tended island.
The Gulper sought its prey on the river using the senses of a predatory fish.It did not have the sensitivity and intelligence of a more powerful Ainu like Bombadil. It could be manipulated by a glib tongue and fooled by magic. If a number of potential victims appeared on the river, it had to percieve them individudly and make its best guess as to which one has offended it. Riverman lore told of young fools who had escaped the Gulper by "jumping ship" at the last second and swimming away as smoothly and quietly as possible, abandoning evil companions, illgotten booty, and wicked habits for the nonce and often for life.
References[]
- MERP:The Shire