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Gil-galad was an Elven-king... - Page 7

© Michael Martinez

So, just as his realm seemed to be coming apart, Gil-galad was thrust upon the stage of world history by Numenor. And Sauron began stirring in Middle-earth once again. Word came to Gil-galad of some distant power which was not friendly to Men and Elves. He knew nothing for certain, but his doubts and concerns gradually increased. When the young prince Anardil (later Tar-Aldarion) began adventuring in Middle-earth Gil-galad befriended him, and the Numenorean prince made many journeys on Gil-galad's behalf, visiting Men throughout the north-western lands of Middle-earth. Gil-galad seems to have formed a policy of establishing closer ties with Men. Perhaps he was only interested in Men of Edainic descent, since the Elves distrusted Men of other kindreds. But the Edainic peoples had spread far and wide. They could be found as far south as the Mouths of Sirion and as far east as the Carnen river and the Iron Hills. The establishment of the Noldorin realm of Eregion may also reflect, in part, Gil-galad's policies. Although Eregion acted on its own initiatives, Gil-galad did not abandon the people of Eregion during the War of the Elves and Sauron. And he may have been instrumental in deciding that the Noldor should establish a colony near Khazad-dum so as to have access to mithril. In this way the Elven civilization would be assured of control over the Eriadorian trade routes. When Sauron began approaching Elven realms in the guise of Annatar, Lord of Gifts, feeling them out concerning their doom to eventually fade, Gil-galad and Elrond suspected the motives of Annatar and refused to treat with him. Annatar/Sauron was not admitted to Lindon, and he turned his attention to Eregion. There Celebrimbor, lord of the Gwaith-i-Mirdain, listened to Annatar, and he dreamed of making Middle-earth into an Elven paradise much like Valinor. The Elves were facing a real problem in that they had their own form of death to contend with: fading. They would lose their bodies. Their spirits would remain, conscious, aware, but incapable of interacting with the world. Gil-galad undoubtedly understood this problem as well as anyone. But he made the innate choice not to meddle with nature. The Elves lived with the life of Arda. That is, their spirits would not leave the circles of the world as Men's spirits would. So for them "life" was not simply a biological function but was also a spiritual one. They wondered if their spirits would continue to exist beyond the existence of Time. They felt Men were assured of continued life, and weren't as concerned about the death of the body as Men were. So Gil-galad did not want to hold back the effects of Time.

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