Epilogue 2: Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age

[Wayfarer]

…In which these tales come to their end.

Okay. So...


The second wrapping-up chapter starts out by telling us of the fate of Sauron the Maia, Lieutenant of Morgoth. After his Master is defeated and cast out into the Void, Sauron surrenders and says he’s sorry. Eonwe, who seems to be in charge of the Valar’s Army, says he’ll have to come back and work out a deal with Manwe. Sauron instead runs and hides until they’ve all left, and then falls back into his old habits.

Beleriand having been destroyed, the elves and men that lived there go about moving elsewhere. Numenor is founded, as are Lindon and Mithlond, Hollin, and Lothlorien. Otherwise Middle Earth is ‘savage and desolate’, and everybody seems content to leave it that way for now.

Except for Sauron. The old fellow wastes no time getting to work, since he’s getting arrogant in the absence of the Valar. He corrupts lots of men, and does his best with the elves (even though he hates the Eldar), managing to pass himself off as a friend (under the name ‘Annatar’ - Lord of Gifts) and convinces them to help him ‘make Middle-Earth fair‘. Elrond and Gil-Galad sense something’s up, but the rest of them, especially the Noldor in Eregion (Lindon) agree to do so.

Sauron lives up to the name he’s given himself, and teaches the Noldor all sorts of neat stuff - Either that they’d never learned, or that had died with the elder generations in Beleriand. Their skill increases manyfold, surpassing everything they’ve done before. Guided subtly by Sauron, they conceive and begin work on the Rings of Power. Saurons’s desire in this is to gain power over the elves, so while they make their rings he forges… One Ring to Rule them All! dum-dum-DUMM

This Ring is the capstone, so to speak, of the entire project. All the other rings will work only as long as this one is, and they are subject wholly to it. In order to control their power (which was great), Sauron invests much of his own power and strength and will into the One Ring, making it ‘a thing of surpassing potency’. But, as soon as he puts it on, the Elves become aware of his plans, and take off their rings.

Since Sauron’s whole plan seems to be failing, he comes to the Elves in open force, and demands that they give him the rings, since he helped make them. He does manage to take back the rings, except for the last Three, which are the most powerful and ward off the decays of time. The Three are given ‘into the hands of the wise’, who conceal them.

Of the rings which he manages to take back, he gives Seven to the Dwarves, and Nine to Men, figuring if he can’t ensnare the Elves at least he’ll get some use out of the rings. Unfortunately for him, Aule made the Dwarves all but immune to that sort of control or influence, but men prove yet again easy to manipulate. The Nine who take these rings are utterly consumed, and become Wraiths, Sauron’s most terrible servants.

Sauron himself is feeling pretty good about this whole business, and in his pride decides he’s going to be the ruler of all middle earth. Even though he’s still able to manipulate and deceive, he decides force and fear are more his style, and those are what he uses.

Yeah. Anyway. The Numenoreans come and scare off all his thugs. So he falls back on deception, the results of which we should all be familiar with (Go Here for a refresher if you’re not). When Numenor goes under, Elendil and his family escape with the White Tree, and the Palantir, and some other neat stuff. They found kingoms in Middle-Earth; Arnor and Gondor. But Sauron also survives (he merely loses his pretty face) and doesn't waste much time making war on them.

Elrond and Gil-Galad come to the Dunedain's aid, as do Durin's Folk. The combined force assaults Mordor and eventually wins the way to Barad Dur itself. Sauron comes out and kills Elendil and Gil-Galad, but is himself felled Isildur cuts of The Ring with what's left of Narsil.

So, Sauron's routed, Isildur takes the Ring and is killed, the Ring is lost. Narsil goes to Isildur's son, but the Dunedain of the North are diminished, and there are to few of them left after the war to keep all the kingdom. Eventually the North-Kingdom splits into three realms which slowly dwindle away, until the only remnant is a strange people living in the wild.

Gondor endures, and for a while it's almosta s good as Numenor was, but it too begins to wane. Anarion's line fails, his last descendants killed by a plague, and Mordor is left unguarded again. Sauron's minions return there, and after a period of waiting attack and take Minas Ithil, which becomes Minas Morgul, and Osgiliath is left in ruin, while Minas Anor becomes Minas Tirith. Earnur, the last king, rides off to single combat with the Lord of the Nagul, and doesn't come back. The stewards take over the duties of the kingship.

Two of the Elven ringbearers - Elrond and Galadrial, use their powers to establish domains for themselvs, Imladris and Lothlorien, where their people can live free from evil things.

Sauron finally reappears, in Greenwood, which becoems Mirkwood, and he dwells in Dol-Guldur. At this time the Wizards first appear as well, hving come over the sea. Thre are five of them. The three that are named are Gandalf, Saruman, and Radagast. Of these, Gandalf isthe most vigilant, and he discovers Sauron in Mirkwood, and tries to convince the others to act, but Saruman, who has become a traitor at heart, prevents it. When they finally do make a move, it is to late, and Sauron escapes to Mordor.

The one ring had already been found, but now it surfaces, and Gandalf learns of it. This precipitates the War of the Ring... insert recap here.

It's finally revealed that Gandalf had the Nenya, one of the Three., which Cirdan gave to him.

Then everybody ships out to Valinor. Happily ever after. The End.