# Days of Flight?



## Ithrynluin (Feb 7, 2004)

> _The Silmarillion; Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age_Now Sauron's lust and pride increased, until he knew no bounds, and he determined to make himself master of all things in Middle-earth, and to destroy the Elves, and to compass, if he might, the downfall of Númenor. He brooked no freedom nor any rivalry, and he named himself Lord of the Earth. A mask he still could wear so that if he wished he might deceive the eyes of Men, seeming to them wise and fair. But he ruled rather by force and fear, if they might avail; and those who perceived his shadow spreading over the world called him the Dark Lord and named him the Enemy; and he gathered again under his government all the evil things of the days of Morgoth that remained on earth or beneath it, and the Orcs were at his command and multiplied like flies. Thus the Black Years began, which the Elves call the Days of Flight. In that time many of the Elves of Middle-earth fled to Lindon and thence over the seas never to return; and many were destroyed by Sauron and his servants. But in Lindon Gil-galad still maintained his power, and Sauron dared not as yet to pass the Mountains of Ered Luin nor to assail the Havens; and Gil-galad was aided by the Númenóreans. Elsewhere Sauron reigned, and those who would be free took refuge in the fastnesses of wood and mountain, and ever fear pursued them. In the east and south well nigh all Men were under his dominion, and they grew strong in those days and built many towns and walls of stone, and they were numerous and fierce in war and aimed with iron. To them Sauron was both king and god; and they feared him exceedingly, for he surrounded his abode with fire.


 Why do you think many Elves left Middle-Earth rather than stay and fight Sauron? Were they weary of war after the horrors of the First Age? Did they deem themselves too weak to face Sauron? In which case, it is interesting to note how Sauron and the creatures of Morgoth recuperated extremely quickly and were ready to stomp all over the good peoples of M-E, yet the Elves and Men were not powerful enough to counter him after about 1500 years of peace. Opinions?


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## Ravenna (Feb 11, 2004)

Some random ideas here, just to get things going. 

Perhaps a combination of all the abovementioned, plus the fact that after so long in exile, many of the elves at last had permission to return to Aman.

Surely they must have been weary of the constant wars, and also most of the major kings or leaders of the elves were by now dead. I mean, I know there were Elrond, Gil-galad and Cirdan, but who among these could really be said to be on a par with figures like Fingolfin, Finrod or even the sons of Feanor? Perhaps that has something to do with not being born in Aman (can't recall if Cirdan was there or not, although I know he was one of the oldest).

Another factor that may have a bearing was the fact that Beleriand was gone. The homes that so many of the Elves had created for themselves had been utterly destroyed when Beleriand drowned and it is possible that, knowing there was a homeland waiting for them over the sea, they simply had no desire to settle anywhere else in Middle Earth proper.

Add to that the fact that whilst Sauron wanted to rule Middle Earth, he wanted 
'


> to destroy the elves


and you have a fairly strong set of reasons for the Elves to leave.
Not necessarily all factors applying to all elves, but each having his or her own reasons for going.


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## Confusticated (Jul 16, 2004)

Grown weary.


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## Grond (Jul 16, 2004)

The Elves of Eregion (mostly Noldor) led by Celebrimbor were the most skilled that had ever been assembled on Arda. They took Feanor's arts to new levels not seen since Feanor's time in Valinor. The Rings of Power were forged near the end of this period and, of course, the Elves of Eregion were betrayed by Sauron (in his disguise as Annatar). At first he pretended to be one of the Maia from the West bearing gifts of learning, understanding and knowledge, and by his wisdom and teachings, the Rings of Power were forged. But... when he forged the Ruling Ring in the depths of fire on Mt. Orodruin (Mt. Doom), he was immediately revealed to all of the Elves who bore/wore the Rings (there were 19 Elves with Rings at the time). The Elven Lords were not ensnared but simply removed the Rings from their fingers. Sauron was enraged that his trap had failed and declared open war on the Elves of Eregion, demanding the Rings as his own (since they were made with his teachings). 

Celebrimbor (the chief Noldorin Elf and son of Curufin) refused and open war was declared. Over time, Sauron stormed Eregion and killed any and all who stood in his way. Celebrimbor perished, as did many of the most loyal and skilled of the Ost-in-Edhil (Guild of Elven-smiths). Those that survived fled to Lindon (Gil-galad) and it is no surprise that they were all too ready to go home. 

It should be noted that they did not go home simply because they had been given a free pass by the Valar. The free pass had occurred hundreds of years before. It was Celebrimbor who led the Noldor to Eregion rather than going over the Sea back to Valinor after Melkor/Morgoth was defeated. It was rather the utter ruin of their works in Middle-earth that drove these remaining Noldor back over the sea to their King Finarfin.

Another interesting thing is that some of the Noldor may have stayed in Middle-earth. The works are never clear exactly who the Elven-smiths were that reforged Narsil and made Anduril. There are references to some of the Elves of Eregion fleeing the attack of Sauron and going to Imladris. If they stayed there, rather than going over the sea, then that would explain how there were still Smiths in the world capbable of equalling the works of Telchar the Dwarf who first forged Narsil all those ages ago.

For those interested in what I have written, a more complete and full account can be found in Unfinished Tales, Of Celeborn and Galadriel.

Cheers,

grond


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## Lhunithiliel (Jul 17, 2004)

I think that an issue of such character, should be better explained not from _within_ the story itself, but from _ outside_. Meaning... that this is a story and it is told by someone and this story-teller must've had a particular idea of why his story would turn this way or another. _Inside_ the story, yes, the characters act as real creatures, but looked from the p.o.v. of the story-teller - they are there to only fulfill a certain purpose, to reveal an idea, a conception etc. of the story-teller himself. 

_Boy! ... Am I making sense?_  

But in order to back up my thoughts and based on _my_ understanding - to comment a bit on the topic of this thread, I'd better use a quote from the words of "story-teller" himself, where he, I think, explains it all much, much better than me with my ramblings  

_speaking about the Elves of the Second Age_:


> ....they wanted to have their cake without eating it. They wanted the peace and bliss and perfect memory of 'The West', and yet to remain on the ordinary earth where their prestige as the highest people, above wild Elves, dwarves, and Men, was greater than at the bottom of the hierarchy of Valinor. They thus became obsessed with 'fading', the mode in which the changes of time (the law of the world under the sun) was perceived by them. They became sad, and their art (shall we say) antiquarian, and their efforts all really a kind of embalming – even though they also retained the old motive of their kind, the adornment of earth, and the healing of its hurts.


_Letter 131_

So, what I mean, is that the Elves *had* to leave the "stage" of events. The Second Age was closing and the Third Age - the Age of Men was coming and they had no more major role to play in the world of Men. At least.... not with direct actions, but only through helping the Secondborn....

Isn't it ironic, btw?! 
Two ages ago Feanor led a majority of Elves out of Aman to come and settle in ME which they considered as their rightfull homeland and didn't want to leave it all to Men! But they failed and those who remained during the whole of the Third Age were doing just the opposite to their initial intentions - namely - helping Men establish their rule over ME!


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