River Witchywindle Battle of Five Armies & The Third Age of Middle-Earth The current year for our Middle-Earth campaign is set during the year of 2946 of the Third Age. Inspired By J.R.R. Tolkien

The River Withywindle (Hobbitish for "willow-winding") was a minor tributary of the Brandywine River that flowed through the heart of the ancient Old Forest. It rose in the higher ground of the Barrow-downs and flowed southwest, cutting a deep valley or "Dingle" through the densest and most dangerous part of the forest before merging with the Brandywine at Haysend near the southern edge of Buckland. The river was narrow but strong-flowing, and its banks were densely lined with willows, particularly the ancient and malevolent Old Man Willow, from whom much of the forest's strange and hostile atmosphere was said to originate.

The valley of the Withywindle was renowned as the source of the "queerness" of the Old Forest. The trees here were infused with a malicious power, a deep-seated hatred for all creatures that roamed free, stemming from centuries of witnessed deforestation and encroachment. This malevolence was concentrated along the riverbanks, where the trees seemed almost "awake" and deliberately misled travelers toward the water. All paths in the Old Forest, despite a traveler's best intentions, seemed to bend and wander inevitably towards the Withywindle valley, leading unwary individuals into the domain of the Great Willow's influence.

The river's water itself appeared to carry an enchantment of drowsiness and forgetfulness, similar to the cursed streams in Mirkwood encountered by the Dwarves in The Hobbit. The very air in the valley was heavy and soothing in an unnatural way, lulling travelers into a deep, vulnerable sleep. This is precisely what happened to Frodo Baggins and his companions when they passed through the forest; they were overwhelmed by a desire to rest by the river, and Merry and Pippin were trapped in a crack in Old Man Willow's trunk while Frodo was pushed into the water by a root.

The hobbits were only saved by the timely, "chance" arrival of Tom Bombadil, who lived with his wife Goldberry in a house on the northern bank of the Withywindle, just above the valley. Goldberry is described as the "Daughter of the River", a river-spirit Tom had found in a pool in the Withywindle long ago. Bombadil demonstrated his mastery over the malevolent river and the ancient tree, commanding the willow to release the hobbits with a powerful song, highlighting that while the river valley was the heart of the forest's dangers, it was also under the enigmatic protection of the "Eldest".

In essence, the River Withywindle was not merely a geographical feature but a potent, almost sentient part of the ancient landscape, where the deep, untamed spirit of Middle-earth held sway. It was a place of enchantment and peril, a crucial segment of the hobbits' journey that marked their transition from the safety of the Shire to a world where ancient, unexplained powers were very real. The river and its surrounding valley remain one of the most mysterious and atmospheric locations in all of Tolkien's work, a testament to the wild, independent nature of the Old Forest.