Luke's heart instantly tightened.
He had been attacked by the old willow's magical sound before, and already had a stress reaction.
However, he quickly discovered that the singing was not aggressive, but rather full of joy.
Listening closely, it was a man's voice.
It wasn't a proper song, the tune was arbitrary and willful, like a self-amused hum.
Before the person appeared, the singing had already come from afar.
The joyful singing seemed to possess magic; the raging wind ceased, the Huorn's wails and screams stopped, and even the raging forest fire quickly extinguished.
Luke's pupils constricted.
What kind of power was this?
He hadn't detected any magic fluctuations, yet the rampant fire gradually extinguished on its own!
As the singing approached, a figure appeared at the edge of the Old Forest.
He wore a tall, old hat with a wide brim, and a long blue feather was stuck in its band; he danced and leaped out.
Illuminated by the moonlight and the remaining firelight,
The person was only slightly taller than a hobbit, but much shorter than a human, making his race uncertain.
He wore a pair of large yellow boots on his sturdy legs, charging along like a large buffalo looking for water. The surrounding trees automatically parted for him, making a path.
He wore a blue coat, his cheeks were as red as apples, a large brown beard covered the lower half of his face, and a pair of blue eyes shone brightly in the night.
Luke knew him, Tom Bombadil, a very mysterious figure.
In hobbit songs, there was the story of 'The Adventures of Tom Bombadil'; he lived in the Old Forest, never deliberately hid his existence, and knew the Bucklebury hobbits on the outskirts of the Old Forest.
Before the Fellowship of the Ring, when Frodo, Sam, and the other four hobbits chose to enter the Old Forest to avoid the Nazgûl and were trapped by the old willow, it was Tom Bombadil who appeared and saved them.
Even the one ring, something that even Maia like Gandalf dared not touch, had no effect in Tom Bombadil's hands; instead, he treated it like a trick, making it appear and disappear.
Even when worn on his hand, there was no change at all, as if it were just an ordinary ring.
He could even see through Frodo when he put on the one ring and became invisible in the shadow world.
It could be said he was very mysterious and unfathomable.
If he had not been unwilling to participate in the war between light and darkness, perhaps the great music of the one ring in the Third Age would have already ended.
With his arrival, the last of the forest fire reluctantly extinguished completely, not even a spark remaining.
The Huorn, whose branches and leaves were burnt away and whose trunks had turned black and carbonized by the flames, also survived.
"Hey, trees, what are you thinking? You shouldn't be awake!"
"Go back to your places, eat your fill of dirt, dig your roots deep, and drink plenty of water, and fall into a deep sleep; I advise you not to cause trouble!"
He spoke loudly to the surrounding trees with a serious expression.
His voice seemed to carry an irresistible command; the trees turned and left, returning to the forest to root and sleep, drawing energy from the earth to restore their vitality.
After doing all this, he returned to his joyful self, dancing and leaping over the fence to the front of the group, greeting everyone with a smile: "Hello everyone!"
"Tom, why are you here?" Rory Brandybuck stepped forward and asked in confusion, his tone familiar, clearly indicating he was very familiar with him.
Tom Bombadil showed a look of helplessness, complaining in a joking tone: "Rory, you've caused me trouble."
"I was originally sleeping soundly with my beloved wife when I was woken by the wailing of the forest. To prevent the trees from disturbing my wife Goldberry's beautiful dream, I had to leave my warm bed and come to resolve this dispute."
Rory Brandybuck explained: "Tom, I'm sorry to disturb your and Goldberry's sleep, but these trees attacked our home without reason, so we had no choice but to fight back!"
"Oh, by the way, this is Wizard Luke. If it weren't for him, we would probably have suffered heavy losses today!" Rory then introduced Luke, who was standing nearby, to Tom Bombadil.
Tom Bombadil looked at Luke curiously upon hearing this, his blue eyes bright as stars, "I know you, a magical Wizard from another land, your magic is very interesting!"
Luke's heart skipped a beat. Who exactly was this mysterious Tom Bombadil? Did he know about his identity as a transmigrator?
Luke's mind was in turmoil for a moment. He tried hard to calm himself down and cautiously probed, "Hello, Mr. Bombadil, I am Wizard Luke. Do you know where I come from?"
Tom nodded and then shook his head, his gaze sincere and without concealment, "Tom knows the name of every person, every tree, every stone on the earth. The moment you stepped onto the earth, Tom knew you, but he doesn't know where exactly you come from."
"Speaking of which, I've met others who called themselves Wizards like you before; they also suddenly appeared on the earth like you, but I can tell they came from different places than you."
Hearing Tom's words, Luke breathed a slight sigh of relief. Clearly, Tom knew he was from outside Middle-earth, but he didn't know he was a transmigrator.
As for the other Wizards he mentioned, they should be Gandalf, Saruman, and the like.
Although Gandalf and others called themselves Wizards, they were actually Maia (lesser gods) sent by the Valar to help the inhabitants of Middle-earth fight the Dark Lord Sauron, but their powers were restricted, and they walked the world as Wizards.
Even though Luke knew Tom wasn't aware of his identity as a transmigrator, he still dared not underestimate him, and was also very curious about his identity.
The immortal beings in this world, besides the Valar and Maia, were Elves, as well as dark creatures like Dragons and Balrogs.
First, Tom Bombadil could be ruled out as a Dragon or Balrog. Second, based on his height, he was clearly not an Elf. Finally, only the Valar and Maia remained.
But if Bombadil were a Maia, the one ring, which even Maia like Gandalf dared not touch, was like a plaything in his hands, completely unaffected, so the possibility of him being a Maia was ruled out.
As for the Valar, besides Vala Melkor, also known as Morgoth, there were fourteen other Valar, all with names and residing in the Undying Lands of Aman.
No Vala matched Bombadil.
Clearly, Tom was not one of the chief Vala.
Of course, Luke also wondered if he was the Creator Iluvatar, but based on the previous answer, he clearly didn't fit that description either.
Luke didn't think that Iluvatar, as the Creator God of this world, would be unaware of his existence as a transmigrator?
He even suspected that his transmigration here might have been the work of this Creator God.
So the final conclusion was that the identity of this mysterious Tom Bombadil remained unknown.