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Old 11-29-2007, 05:36 AM   #65
Findegil
King's Writer
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 1,694
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Sadly as it is, it is true there are many way of evil even in Middle-Earth and serving Melkor is only one. For sure many of the Noldor went a good way down the wrong road. But all elves had a choice, at least after their death: they could follow the way Iluvatar had paved for them and go to the halls of Mandos to be judged and redeemed (the halls of Mandos were a kind of a purgatory and not part of paradise) or they could after their death (further) rebel against Iluvatars authority and deny that road. In one of the HoM-E volumes were are told that elves that did not follow Mandos call were easily cached by Melkor to serve him since he was the prime rebel against Iluvatar.

For Orcs that means in my opinion: The first generation that was transformed from Elves did never leave their prison alive. Dieing they would surely choose to go to Mandos and they would be redeemed. But they would naturally not speak much about their former lives. First of all part of the process of redemption would be a at least partial lose of the most horrible memory. And second who would be willing to listen too such a story? Of course the Valar especially Mandos and Nienna but from the Elves of Valinor? Anyway we do not know when the first of them died nor who long it took to redeem him or her in Mandos. Probably non of them left Mandos before the end of the First Age.
The later generations might have chosen to stay with Melkor even after death and thus became dragged further down. For such beings redemption must, in my opinion, wait until the last end of Arda when the elves will die indeed and have to deepened only on pure estel. But if they chose to go to Mandos, I don't think that these way was ever closed in the face of any elf. But we hear from some elves that they would never be released from Mandos within the time of Arda (Finwe and his son Fëanor, for completely different reasons). Thus redemption could take very long if on was fixed in his own evil ways or it could be even impossible with in Arda. We hear from other elves that they did not desire a reincarnation and that could be true for Orcs as well, if they once understood what crime against their own people they had committed.

As a last remark: In my view the number of Orcs with pure elvish blood would have been very small indeed. From what I understood of Tolkiens later scripts the main source for Orcs would have been men, as soon they were available. And as soon as the Orcs were of mixed origin the way to the west was blocked from them in life and in death.
A remorseful reversal in life would be very difficult indeed. Either the remorse Orc would be killed by his companions or he would cast out of any community.
And in death he would go straight away to Iluvatar. Who could say what awaited the Orcs on this road? But estel is not restricted to the good guys! It depends on the believe that Iluvatar likes his creation and will not let it suffer for ever from what ever evil befalls it nor will he deliver even part of his creation for ever to Melkor or any other rebel against his authority.

Respectfully
Findegil
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