A History of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, Part 1 - Page 2
© Michael Martinez
The seeds of the war were laid down millennia before when Sauron, in the guise of "Aulendil" ("Annatar"), began approaching the Elves in an effort to seduce them1. Galadriel did not trust him, claiming to have known no such Maia in Valinor2, and Gil-galad mistrusted him, having long sensed that some evil power had arisen in Middle-earth3. In fact, most of the Elven lords refused to treat with Sauron, except for the smith Celebrimbor, whose reasons for rejecting the counsel of Gil-galad are not given. But perhaps he had inherited the great pride of his house, and as the last surviving heir of Feanor he rejected Gil-galad's advice in an act of rebellion.
Celebrimbor did not live to see the fruition of the seeds he helped Sauron plant and nurture in the Rings of Power. Although he came to understand his folly before the War of the Elves and Sauron, Celebrimbor perished when Sauron took Ost-in-Edhil4. Like Feanor before him, Celebrimbor led the Noldor down a path the end of which he never saw, and their tragic history was both enriched and diminished because of the choices he made.
Because they aided Gil-galad during the War of the Elves and Sauron, the Dunedain became irrevocably enmeshed in the affairs of Middle-earth, earning Sauron's undying enmity. Within 100 years of the war the Dunedain began making permanent havens in Middle-earth: Lond Daer Ened, Pelargir, Umbar, and others now forgotten5. From these havens came at least three of the Nazgul, the Ringwraiths who by the year 2251 revealed themselves for the first time, leading Sauron's armies against his enemies6.
The conflicts between the Dunedain and Sauron eventually dwarfed the ongoing struggle between Sauron and the Elves. While many of the Eldar fled Middle-earth, more and more Dunedain settled there, coming from both factions in Numenor: the King's Men and the Faithful. The Dunedain pursued conquests of their own, clashing with Sauron's lieutenants and earning his greater hatred7. Sauron's rivalry with the Dunedain led to his voluntary imprisonment in Numenor where he seduced the greater part of the Dunedain to his cause. Their fortresses in Middle-earth southward of Pelargir thus extended Sauron's true power, where before they had contested it.
Surviving the destruction of Numenor, Sauron returned to a Middle-earth much changed. Gil-galad had recovered his ancient power and extended his sway to new lands8. All the Elves were now apparently united in purpose and strengthened by the long peaceful respite his absence had given them. The Dunedain who survived the Downfall of Numenor were still divided into two groups, but the Faithful now established two kingdoms which though nurtured by Gil-galad's power provided Lindon with a stronger buffer against invasion than either Eregion or Imladris ever had.
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