|
With the passing of the Third Age, the last physical remnants of Morgoth's power went from Middle-earth.
Sauron desroyed, the Nazgul gone, the last Great Dragon killed, the Balrog slain, the orcs exterminated or reduced to a mere nuisance. If any of the Istari remain, now that their job is done they will become just old, old men, soon to die. There is no possibility of the return of Evil Incarnate, embodied in a person or other creature.
The Elves have left or are fading, the Dwarves are dwindling, the East and the South have been rendered impotent for many generations. The only threat to the Re-united Kingdom and the North-West of Middle-earth must come from within, from the ordinary evil inherent in mankind.
The greatest threat will come from a power struggle between Aragorn's grandsons or great-grandsons. The Kingdom is too big and its population centres too far apart for it to be stable. It is almost inevitable that Arnor and Gondor will break apart again and they will go to war over the possession of the empty lands between them.
Human ambition, not pure evil, will, sooner or later, bring Aragorn's dreams crashing down.
.
|