Quote:
Originally Posted by the phantom
It didn't impact Alqua or TE because it was Eru doing it. He's just a teensy bit more powerful than the Valar.  |
It wasn't that the Valar were incapable of fighting the Numenoreans, Mr. P., rather it was their inability to do so based on their level of authority in regards to the Children of Iluvatar.
Tulkas laughing, Orome in his wrath and Ulmo towering out of the sea would give even Sauron pause, had he bothered to get out of the boat. And speaking of Sauron, he led the Numenoreans onward because he knew they were going to be destroyed one way or another. You must remember that the Valar did not even fight in the War of Wrath; instead they sent as leader-by-proxy Eonwe the Herald, a Maia, and hosts of the Vanyar and Noldor (and most likely other Maiar as well). This army not only crushed Morgoth's forces (including Balrogs, dragons and trolls), but destroyed Beleriand so utterly that it sunk into the sea. Read the passage in the Silmarillion regarding how vast Morgoth's army was, yet still it was defeated by an army of Valinor that did not include the Valar in battle.
So, in reiteration, I don't think that defeat at the hands of the Numenoreans was the Valar's concern. Not at all. If anything, this is one more instance of Valaric interference that went awry. Much like in the 1st Age when the Valar dragged the elves off to Valinor so that they would be 'safe' (a move that many elves eventually begrudged), Numenor was once again an artificial attempt at safeguarding the 'chosen' Children of Iluvatar that backfired on the meddlesome Valar. Strange folk, the Valar: one moment they are interfering, passing dooms and whatnot, and the next you don't hear from them for an Age. Very inconsistent. In any case, Eru, irritated that he had to tinker with his divine plan, made damn sure there would be no more chosen people, and wiped Numenor off the map -- a lesson not only for the remaining Numenoreans, but also for the Valar. Their interference thereafter (because they couldn't help but continue meddling -- it was their foible), was reduced to sending the Istari -- not to trade blow for blow with Sauron, but inspire the free peoples to fight instead.