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Originally Posted by Galadriel55
How does Legolas' heritage affect his departal from ME? He doesn't need to be one of the Eldar to leave, or to hear the call of the Sea
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Exactly. The invitation/summons of the Valar for the Elves to come to Aman was extended to
all of them, wasn't it, and excepting the Ban on the rebellious Noldor in the First Age, I can't remember anything saying that the Straight Road didn't remain open to all Elves who wished to take it, regardless of their ancestry.
As for why Legolas didn't set sail earlier, I agree that he most probably tarried for the sake of his companions from the Fellowship. The first thing coming to my mind here was this dialogue:
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Originally Posted by LotR Book V, The Last Debate
[Legolas:]"Alas! for the gulls. No peace shall I have again under beech or under elm."
"Say not so!" said Gimli. "There are countless things still to see in Middle-earth, and great works to do. But if all the fair folk teake to the Havens, it will be a duller world for those who are doomed to stay."
"Dull and dreary indeed!" said Merry. "You must not go to the Havens, Legolas. There will always be some folk, big or little, and even a few wise dwarves like Gimli, who need you."
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It would seem that Legolas felt bound by this admonition and only felt free to leave when the last of his friends were dead or nearing death.
Thanks by the way to
Ang for eloquently restoring the original image of Tolkien's Legolas, which I must admit had been eclipsed in my mind by PJ's shield-surfing superhero for a while. As for Galadriel's warning of death, I read Leggy's words to Gimli ("Would you have her speak openly to you of your death?") just the same way the first time around and didn't really get where that came from; only at the second or third reading did it occur to me that he must have been referring to the Lady's message to
Aragorn about the Paths of the Dead, and not to his own at all.