#thecirclesofpower
Further exploring realms of extreme possibility concerning the fate of Nenya (as well as the other two Rings of Power) should Sauron regain the One Ring.
The purpose of these posts are to allow me to brainstorm ideas for The Circles, an alternate universe fanfiction series. Writing ideas out like this helps me solidify more nebulous concepts and choose a course of action.
Today I just finished re-reading “The Council of Elrond.”
ELROND: “The Three were not made by Sauron, nor did he touch them. […] But they were not made as weapons of war or conquest: that is not their power. Those who made them did not desire strength or domination or hoarded wealth, but understanding, making, and healing, to preserve all things unstained. These things the Elves of Middle-earth have in some measure gained, though with sorrow. But all that has been wrought by those who wield the Three will turn to their undoing, and their minds and hearts will become revealed to Sauron, if he regains the One.” (p. 301)
The way I read this is that Elrond is theorizing that all that has been made by the Three Rings (such as the defenses around Lothlorien and Rivendell) will effectively be cursed should Sauron regain the One Ring. Elrond may or may not be correct in his assumptions, but we never got to find out in the canon version.
THE THEORY I AM PLAYING AROUND WITH IS AS FOLLOWS: As long as Galadriel does not wear Nenya, the magical girdle that she has established around Lorien will continue to protect her realm for an indefinite period of time, even though Sauron has the One Ring. I further theorize that Sauron cannot control a Ring of Power from afar unless someone is wearing it. Sauron KNOWS now that Galadriel is a Ringbearer, and he has an understanding of the defenses around the forest, but he has to rely upon less powerful underlings to do his bidding. Here is where the Galadhrim may have the upper hand - at least for a while. Of course, if Sauron came in person to Lorien, he could easily shatter Galadriel’s defenses. They would stand up to the might of the Dark Lord like a house of cards in a wind storm.
In my post Galadriel vs Sauron and the Fate of Lorien, I had entertained the possibility that over time, the enchantments around Lorien would start to show signs of corruption, such as strange and twisted vegetation. However, I hesitated on this, because the Three Rings were not evil in themselves, and I wasn’t certain if their works could turn to evil.
However, Elrond theorizes, “But all that has been wrought by those who wield the Three will turn to their undoing[…]”
So maybe the vegetation in the forest SHOULD eventually start showing the effects of the Shadow. The trees could sicken, but instead of dying, they cling unnaturally to life, becoming gnarled, twisted abominations that are terrifying to behold… a corruption of the preservative, time altering, entropy defying effects of the Three Rings…
OR maybe instead of a physical effect, the elves start to turn against each other, like how in the various times in the Silmarillion that the ramifications of the Oath and the Curse of Mandos became activated, igniting suspicion, paranoia, and bloodlust.
Some intriguing ideas to contemplate.
OTHER POSTS IN THIS SERIES……..
The Ring is on Sauron’s Finger; What Happens Next?
Galadriel vs Sauron and the Fate of Lorien
Further Thoughts on Galadriel, Sauron and Nenya
Master of Rings Mastered by Ring… Or At Least Inconvenienced)
Continuing my exploration of possibilities of the fate of Lorien should Sauron regain the One Ring, this time in story form. From Book 8 of The Circles.
In days of old, the elvensmiths of Eregion, lamenting the progression of Time and the inevitability of decay, began to dabble in magics that were designed to preserve and protect the beauty of the lands which they held dear. It is the nature of all things to wear down over time: just as a tiny seedling grows into a mighty tree and then falls down to rot upon the forest floor, so too do mighty kingdoms rise and then fall, and works wrought by even the most skilled hands eventually crumble and turn to dust. The elves who had survived the fall of Beleriand began to feel, for the first time, the weight of their immortality, the doom of watching everything around them change, whilst they themselves remained the same. Facing a crisis of existence, they turned their immense skills and talents to find ways to stave off the unpredictability of change and halt the creeping blight of decay. They sought to create a state which did not exist in the natural world: a place where the Laws of Time and Entropy no longer applied, where beauty never faded, and change did not occur unless it was a desired thing. They wanted an idyllic world that was reminiscent of the bliss and splendor of the Uttermost West, immutable and constant, part of Middle-earth but yet removed from the stream of Time and immune to the slow, gradual erosion of that constant, never-ceasing flow.
The elves sought to control Time itself; Sauron sought to control the elves. And so began the unholy collaboration between Annatar the Fair and the Elven-smiths of Eregion. Being a necromancer of great skill, Sauron knew how to preserve life, albeit in a different state from what nature had intended. He gladly imparted His great wealth of knowledge upon His eager students, but carefully hid from them the true nature of the arts in which they so innocently dabbled. Many were the Rings that they created, some greater and some lesser. And then there were the Three that Celerimbor crafted with his own hands. Even though these Three were created using the same arts as the others, they were untainted by the forbidden alchemy that magnified the powers of the wearer, preserved the spirit but caused transmutation of the body, and bound one forever to the Lord of the Rings.
And now Sauron found Himself striving against the defenses of a Ring that had been designed to preserve and protect in continuity. As long as Nenya remained unworn and in the possession of the Galadhrim, it would be nigh impossible to break the protective spells that were woven about the heart of Lórien. The Dark Lord feared that He would be forced to journey to the Golden Wood Himself and use the power of the One Ring to unmake all that Galadriel had wrought using the potent combination of her own native strength and the defensive powers of Nenya. Otherwise, it was theoretically possible that Lórien could continue existing in perpetuity, even after all other lands had fallen under His rule. An eternal machine, set into perpetual motion, defying the laws of the universe… He wondered if Celebrimbor were laughing at Him from the Halls of Mandos. “Even beyond the grave, My former student continues to defy Me,” Sauron fumed to Himself.
Musings Which Led To This Story:
Further Thoughts on Galadriel, Sauron, and Nenya
Following up on Galadriel vs Sauron and the Fate of Lorien.
THE SCENARIO: Sauron has regained the One Ring! What happens next???
These thoughts came to me… like the sudden strike of lightning…
With the One Ring in Sauron’s possession, Galadriel cannot wear Nenya without falling to thralldom. But what of the enchantments that Galadriel laid over Lothlorien using Nenya in the past?
(I believe that Galadriel used a combination of her own native strengths and those of her Ring of Power to create her own version of Melian’s Girdle around Lothlorien – an enchanted circle of protection and concealment. I think that this would have been an established system of spells, maybe using runes of power, so it wasn’t a magical force field that she had to concentrate upon all the time to maintain. She needed to keep her mind free to perceive Sauron’s thoughts concerning the elves, after all.)
While Sauron can control the wearer of a Ring of Power, I don’t think he can control the Ring itself from afar if no one is wearing it. So he couldn’t just command Nenya to turn off the defenses around Lorien; he would have to command Galadriel to do this. So, therefore, in theory, Lothlorien could remain under the protection of Nenya for an indefinite period of time, IF GALADRIEL DOES NOT PUT ON THE RING.
“Nenya’s power was preservation, protection, and concealment from evil.”
– Tolkien Gateway Wikipedia
The motivation behind the creation of the Rings of Power was so that the elves could halt the effects of time and create a form of heaven (Valinor) on earth (Letter 131). The elves really, really hated the Second Law of Thermodynamics, and sought to bypass entropy, and prevent change from occurring. Since Nenya was created with these ideas in mind, I suppose it’s theoretically possible that this Ring could continue protecting Lothlorien indefinitely, as a sort of elven perpetual motion machine.
This would effectively mean that Celebrimbor would be achieving revenge upon Sauron FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE, since he was the one who created Nenya.
This is a follow-up of sorts of this post: The Ring is on Sauron’s Finger; What Happens Next?
As I contemplate a world in which Sauron has possession of the One Ring, I find myself straying more and more into the Realm of Extreme Possibility.
When Angmar and I discussed plans for the The Circles back in 2005, we thought that Lorien would be one of the first places in Rhovanion to fall, due to its closeness to Dol Guldur and the fact that it seems to have more magical than natural defenses. Galadriel would not be able to use Nenya without falling under thralldom to Sauron, so this would severely lessen Lorien’s defensive power.
HOWEVER, over the years I have discovered that there are multiple theories about Galadriel’s powers and the properties of the Three Rings.
It is known that the Three Rings will lose their powers after the One Ring is destroyed, but as far as I can tell, Tolkien never specifically stated if this was a sudden shutdown or a slow and gradual diminishing. I have seen this issue argued both ways.
On March 28, THREE DAYS AFTER THE DESTRUCTION OF THE ONE RING, Galadriel and Thranduil led an assault on Dol Guldur, and “Galadriel threw down its walls and laid bare its pits.” Many people believe that Galadriel used the waning powers of Nenya to achieve this feat.
However, there is an opposing theory that states that Galadriel used HER OWN POWER to destroy Dol Guldur, much like how Luthien threw down Tol Sirion with the power of enchanted song. (Having Galadriel destroy Sauron’s fortress with song also seems fitting, especially since her brother Finrod lost a battle in song to Sauron.) Galadriel was the student of Melian, the maia queen of an enchanted forest, and she learned much from her tutor. Lorien seems to be inspired by Melian’s own forest home.
Another factor to consider when contemplating this second theory is that Nenya’s powers seem defensive, not offensive. Even if the ring still retained some of its powers after the destruction of the One Ring, it might not have been able to destroy a fortress.
GOING BY THE SECOND THEORY… If Galadriel possesses the power to destroy a fortress through magic or song, perhaps Lorien would not fall immediately to the forces of Dol Guldur and Sauron.
IN REGARD TO THE SCENARIO OF SAURON REGAINING THE ONE RING… We know absolutely nothing about what could possibly happen!!! After all, when Sauron put on the One Ring, the elves took off the Three Rings and hid them. So no one had been using them. But at the time of Year 3019 of the Third Age, the Three Rings had been used for thousand of years… Galadriel used Nenya to surround Lorien with mists and enchantments; Elrond used Vilya to make Rivendell a refuge; and Gandalf used Narya to stir the fires of hope, POSSIBLY to make fire magic, and POSSIBLY fireworks.
Obviously, with the One Ring on Sauron’s hand, Galadriel cannot use Nenya. But would all of the enchantments and protections that she laid upon Lothlorien with the power of this Ring immediately be deactivated like someone turned off a light switch?
WHAT WE KNOW FOR A CERTAINTY…
“For if you fail, then we are laid bare to the Enemy.” –Galadriel
Once Sauron puts on the One Ring, he instantly knows the identity of the other Ringbearers. So he knows that Galadriel, Elrond, and Gandalf were in possession of the Three Rings at the moment he regained the One.
I don’t know if Sauron would be able to control the subserviant Rings unless someone was wearing them. So I don’t think he could just command Nenya from afar to undo all of the magic that it had wrought.
Perhaps Nenya’s enchantments would then continue to remain active, even though Galadriel could not use her ring anymore.
Remember, Frodo had the One Ring in his possession for 17 years. He kept it at Bag End, and never wore it. But he stopped aging the moment it came into his posession. The passive powers of the Ring caused him to stop aging, even when he never actually used it.
So possibly the enchantments that Galadriel laid over Lorien using Nenya would continue to protect the realm. Perhaps over time, though, they would begin to weaken.
Another intriguing possibility would be if the enchantments would slowly begin showing signs of corruption… like maybe the vegetation starts looking weird and twisted… But that might go against the concept that the Three Rings, while being made using the skills Sauron taught to Celerimbor, were free of evil.
Now I think Galadriel, of all the Three Ring bearers, would struggle especially to cope with life without Nenya. Her magic forest is part of her identity, and I think she would be severely pained by the reduction of her powers. I think she would struggle with the temptation to put the ring on again, even though she knows well the dangers.
“I say to you, Frodo, that even as I speak to you, I perceive the Dark Lord and know his mind, or all of his mind that concerns the Elves. And he gropes ever to see me and my thought. But still the door is closed!” –Galadriel
Galadriel had been fighting a psychic war of sorts with Sauron for some time. Now the tables would be turned. I think that he would be doing a lot of meditating upon Galadriel and Nenya, trying to exert his psychic will over her and tempt her to wear her ring once again. Sort of like how the Palantir, a neutral object that has been turned into a communication device between Isengard and Sauron, seems to tempt Pippin to look into it. He would also be extending his thought towards Elrond and Gandalf as well.
The knowledge of the location of the Three Rings could potentially alter Sauron’s war strategies.
Gondor is obviously one of Sauron’s main objectives, as well as Rohan. Tolkien never wrote much about the war in Rhovanion. There were attacks on Lorien, Mirkwood, Lonely Mountain, and Dale. However, I’m not sure which of those locations would be most important to Sauron. With the knowledge that Nenya is in Lorien, I think his objective might shift to Lorien, and Mirkwood, as Thranduil is an ally of Galadriel. Perhaps Sauron might abandon the fight at Dale and the Lonely Mountain for a time to focus on fighting with the elves.
I wish I had some people to swap ideas with regarding alternate universe what if possibilities concerning how the war in Gondor, Rohan, and Eriador might progress if Sauron regained the One Ring. There are the usual forums, but there is are ideological differences between fanfiction writers and non-writer fan/scholar types. (Fanfiction writers tend to be more creative and open minded in their approach to Tolkien’s world, while non-writers tend to look down upon alternate interpretations of the text, or deviations from it in creative media.) I don’t want to argue with someone who is convinced that their understanding of the canon is the only right one, or those who shut down these sort of discussions because they feel that a Fourth Age that starts out with Sauron in command is too depressing to contemplate.
It would be good to discuss these matters with people who are open to multiple and possibly conflicting interpretations of the canon, and all of the various ways one can diverge from it while still remaining rooted in Tolkien’s lore.
In The Circles, Sauron has regained the One Ring, and now controls the eastern part of Gondor. There were major Mordorian losses in Rohan, and as of the summer of 3019, Rohan remains free.
When he started writing The Circles, one of Angmar’s goals was to bring a First Age feel to the Third/Fourth Ages. He was especially inspired by the dark years that followed the Nírnaeth Arnoediad and the fall of the various strongholds of Elves and Men. He also liked the concept that not all the elves would flee to Valinor, but that many would stay, and fight for Middle-earth. Therefore, in The Circles, there ARE elves at Helm’s Deep, but it’s the Second Battle of Helm’s Deep, and the elves are from Rivendell and led by Glorfindel.
The Circles was inspired by a RPG of which Angmar was the gamemaster. He was forced to end the game prematurely, and so he made Mordor win major victories in eastern Gondor but suffer major losses Rohan. This resulted in a temporary ceasefire, with Rohan, west Gondor, and Mordor hastily making fortifications and seeking reinforcements. Since The Circles was originally meant to be a campaign in this RPG, Angmar and I carried over these ideas into the fanfiction version of the story.
I like the concept of a sort of cold war between Mordor and East/West Gondor, as Sauron works on fortifying and strengthening his hold in eastern Gondor while planning his next move. I can see a lot of spying and espionage going on, as well as border skirmishes. Outlaws, rebels, La Résistance. (Angmar led an Occupied Gondor campaign towards the end of RPG, in which the Mordorian occupying forces in eastern Gondor demanded that the people pay extravagant tribute to their new overlords.)
For the sake of the story, I don’t want Sauron to achieve swift widespread victories. There is this attitude in the Tolkien fandom that if Sauron regains the Ring, BOOM, all of Middle-earth will be his. However, it takes weeks for an army to get from Point A to Point B, and many of Sauron’s allies come from a great distance from the lands with whom he is waging war.
Also, Angmar envisioned there being dissent within Sauron’s own allies, nations and tribes who resented paying tribute of money and slaves to the Dark Lord. With the publication of Nature of Middle-earth, it turns out that Tolkien had the same idea - that the Blue Wizards were working behind the scenes, stirring up resentment against Sauron, and this was one of the reasons that led to Sauron’s forces at the time of the War of the Ring not being as strong as he would have liked. While Angmar did not get a chance to do anything with the Blue Wizards, he did play around with the concept of rebels and revolutionaries. In the early days of Angmar’s RPG, he entertained the idea of the peoples of both the West and East joining together to fight against Sauron in a sort of War of the Last Alliance type situation - but something like this would probably occur later in the Fourth Age. (He imagined Sauron as eventually becoming more and more power mad, to the point of Morgoth-style insanity.)
In the summer of 3019, the war in Gondor and Rohan seems easier to contemplate than the conflict in Rhovanion. I’m not sure what parts of Rohvanion would be most important to Sauron. Angmar and I thought that Lorien would fall first, because Galadriel couldn’t use Nenya to defend her territory if Sauron had the One Ring. However, over the years, I have had some second thoughts about this, because there is significant evidence that Galadriel has similar powers to her brother Finrod, and was able to destroy Dol Guldur with her own native strength even after Nenya lost its powers. Also, while Galadriel can’t wear Nenya when Sauron has the One Ring, I’m not sure his having the One Ring in his possession would negate the defensive spells laid on the area using Nenya in the past.
I think Lothlorien would have personal significance to Sauron, especially since now he knows that Galadriel was a Ringbearer. But I’m not sure what order of significance the other Rhovanion territories would have - Thranduil’s kingdom, Dale, the Lonely Mountain, the Beorning lands, and any Northmen settlements. The Rohvanion front is often overlooked in favor of Gondor and Rohan, both by fans and by Tolkien himself.
There is another matter to consider. Since he now has the One Ring, perhaps Sauron’s goals might shift to reclaiming the Three? The war for Middle-earth might morph into Part Two of the War of the Elves and Sauron.
A CAVEAT… I don’t actually want to write a war novel with a lot of combat scenes, but these are events that would be taking place in the background of more peaceful plotlines. The Circles was never really meant to be about the war, but how the war affected the characters.
NOTE: These topics are further explored in Galadriel vs Sauron and the Fate of Lorien.
Written by Angmar; Edited by Elfhild
From Book 8 of The Circles
After the Mouth of Sauron had departed from the prison cell, the Morgul Lord divested himself of his garments and lay down upon his bed. Willing himself into a deep state of torpor, soon he began to dream. Whether it was the vain imaginings of his own mind, or some test from his Master, he knew not.
In his dream, the Morgul Lord was in his cell, just as he was in the waking world. Suddenly the door slowly swung open, creaking upon its hinges. A great urge came over him to walk down the hall and leave his chamber for a little while. As he walked down the corridor, he began to wonder where he was going and why. Then he knew. He stood at the great arched doorway that led to the Great Hall of Barad-dûr. And there it was… the Throne of the Dark Lord.
As he looked at the towering chair of black adamant, he placed a foot on the first step and then took another step, and another, until he had climbed to the very top of the raised dais where the throne itself rested. As he gazed at the symbol of majesty, he realized that he was almost the - no, he was exactly the same - huge shape as Sauron Himself. He smiled at the dramatic figure he must be making, his robes swirling around him, as he seated himself upon the great chair. As he lay his hands upon armrests cushioned with thick black velvet, he saw upon his hand the Ruling Ring. He gazed over the massive hall which stretched before him, and his mind was quick to set about devising the first words he would say after the orcs had crowned him as Ruler of the World.
“Long have the orc-folk suffered under the yoke of a cruel and unjust Master Who rewarded them with little and exacted everything from them. They have suffered for Him, bled for Him, died for Him, and what have they received in return? Nothing! That day is over at last.” The Morgul Lord looked out over the sea of orcish faces, and read nothing but adoration. “Those who are with me, come forward now, and I will lead you into victory over the Tyrant!” The deafening cheers that went up from hundreds of throats echoed and reechoed through the hall until they seemed to fill all of Barad-dûr with jubilation. He stood before the chair and raised his arms in benediction before dismissing them to go forth and put down the last shreds of opposition to his rule.
A knock at the door roused the Morgul Lord from his death-like slumber, and he growled softly, for it had been the first truly satisfying rest that he had had for months.
It feels good to be writing about the Nazgul again.
Well, editing Angmar’s stories about the Nazgul.
the purest form of love is necromancy.
you loved them so dearly you literally cannot live without them? you need them so badly that you would resort to staining your very soul to get them home? you dream of their love and their warmth and you are willing to let your heart grow cold to feel it again? no deeper love exists.
If a Nazgul offered you a side quest, would you take it?
