Count, Count, Weigh, Divide - Page 3
© Michael Martinez
In the struggle with Sauron, every action portends some further action to come. Aragorn revealed himself to Sauron, hoping to draw Sauron's attention away from the borders of Mordor, thus opening a path for Frodo. But Aragorn had to challenge Sauron, reminding him of his past defeat, and threatening another defeat. Sauron did not have to interpret the songs of birds chirping at his window. He need only analyze practical strategic information.
Yet, as an angelic being himself who had "fallen to Earth", as it were, Sauron was himself capable of playing the omen game. He understood that there were greater powers than Men and Elves, and that these powers knew something of the future. He, too, knew something of the future. The future must have looked pretty good to him. Why else continue on with his plans for world domination? Who would want to play out a game where they knew they were doomed not only to failure, but to a defeat so crushing they would be reduced to near-complete impotence?
Tolkien mentions in one of his letters that Iluvatar tipped the scales in the favor of the Valar. The Valar had sent emissaries to Middle-earth with the intention of guiding Men and Elves to a victory without actually directly intervening. The defeat of Sauron could not be brought about by the marshaling of an army. And, Tolkien suggests in an essay in Morgoth's Ring, there was no need for such an invasion. Elves and Men indeed had the power to defeat Sauron. Only when the Valar's plan backfired, however, and Saruman betrayed their trust, did Iluvatar decide to enter the fray.
Unlike the Valar, he could effect a precision timing and introduce exactly the right amount of new strength at the right point. The Valar had sort of aimed a shotgun at Middle-earth and fired blindly into the mists of Time, hoping they were on the right track. After all, they had a feeling this was sort of how Sauron could be defeated. That feeling would have come from their knowledge of the Music and their recollection of the Vision. Perhaps Manwe even communed with Iluvatar, asking advice.
Iluvatar alone would have known just how perilous the Valar's plan was. Sauron, on the other hand, would have just been awakening within Middle-earth after a long sleep. It should have been a nightmarish sleep, filled with dreams of anger and impotence. The unnatural death of the body which a self-incarnated Ainu experience was such a traumatizing experience they normally could not restore their composure sufficiently to continue interacting with Ea. Sauron beat that game by placing the greater part of his native strength in the One Ring. The Ring anchored him to Middle-earth. But it also made him vulnerable.
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