#tolkien au

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.