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#1 |
Guest
Posts: n/a
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Well, Sauron didn't have a lieutenant that served him as he served Morgoth. Arguably there were the Nazgul, but after the One Ring was destroyed, they were gone along with Sauron.
Durin's Bane had been hiding since the end of the first age, nigh 8,000 years, IIRC. Most of the Balrogs were destroyed in the war of wrath, and are more intent on hiding then ruling Middle Earth. If they had any ambitions like Sauron did, they would have been more present in the second and third ages. As far as I can tell, the Balrogs were used more like Elite troops then battlefield commanders. |
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#2 |
Hungry Ghoul
Join Date: Jun 2000
Posts: 1,719
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There is no evidence whatsoever that more Balrogs survived the Fall of Angband. Tolkien states in a letter something to the effect that 'here we find one that one has survivied the Fall and hidden', implying he was the only one to do so. Implied or not, we know of no others.
Personally, I have also argued in the past that there were no more Morgothian dragons after the death of Smaug. Of course Shelob might still be around... What we know of the evil in the 4th Age is that it mainly comes from the inside, from Man's dissatisfaction with good, resulting in youths playing orcs, secret cults etc. |
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#3 |
Ghost Prince of Cardolan
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Well...
The appendices of RotK speak of the remaining evil creatures that had to be routed out and killed by King Aragorn and King Eomer. The ruin of Mordor was left alone, lest any of the evil that dwelt there be disturbed, or something like that. That's one of the things that always bothered me a little about Middle-Earth...you never do defeat the evil entirely. Morgoth came back from being chained, then Sauron stayed after Morgoth's exile. Then Sauron was destroyed, but wasn't fully gone. Then he was finally destroyed...well, we don't know much beyond that.
I agree, though, the primary evil after Sauron's fall was in the weakness of Man.
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Eagerly awaiting the REAL Return of the King - Jesus Christ! Revelation 19:11-16 |
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#4 |
Ubiquitous Urulóki
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Well, generally, Melkor/Sauron's evils have been extinguished. Orcs linger in the Misty Mountains, some orcs may remain around Nurn, there are always a few bothersome trolls, Haradrim, Easterling, and Dunlending rogues. Various villains to be dealt with, but no really great evil. Eomer and Elessar rode out in the 4th Age to quell those evils, though many of these exploits are yet undocumented.
Actually, there are two loopholes. Firstly, the forgotten 'Citadel' of Gundabad, the orcish stronghold in the Misty Mountains, which survived the War of the Ring and must be thwarted. Secondly, the slim (very slim) possibility that there are lesser dragons or the 'worms' of the east that are sparsely mentioned. This is, of course, nary more than heresay and conjecture. For an illustration of possibilities, look to The New Shadow, the barely satiating first chapter of a possible sequel, written by Prof. T. himself. For good reason, JRRT gave up on this, seeing it to be pointless to explore man's weakness, since the Third Age Myth for Britain was already complete. Man's weakness would be nothing but a weak allegory for the Medieval world, not fantasy in any respect and not really Tolkein quality. In that brief glimpse, we are only introduced to preliminary characters, one being Borleas, son of our RotK friend Bergil (or was it Beregond?). It is unsure whether he was meant to be the protagonist, and the story only falters, despite the usual Tolkein flourish of the writing. It is shown that all evils will arise when man's world succumbs to generic corruption, like the abovementioned cults, etc.
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"What mortal feels not awe/Nor trembles at our name, Hearing our fate-appointed power sublime/Fixed by the eternal law. For old our office, and our fame," -Aeschylus, Song of the Furies |
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#5 |
Face in the Water
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 728
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There will always be evil, because of mannish nature, and dwarvish nature to a lesser extent. Even if all of the bad creatures were hunted out and destroyed, man would still be treacherous.
Why did Gundabad play no part in the War of the Ring? Was its population decimated to that extent by the Battle of the Five Armies? Kransha, it's probably Bergil's son; Beregond's son would be Bergil's brother. |
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#6 |
Shade of Carn Dûm
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Sharkey's End
Posts: 267
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Gundabad was mostly destroyed in the war of dwarves and orcs when they wanted revenge on the orcs for he killing of Thrain by Azog.
It says somewhere that Sauron was the last personified evil in the world, and that any evil after that would be the evil in men.
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His sword was long his lance was keen His shining helm afar was seen The countless stars of heavens field Were mirrored in his silver shield |
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#7 | |
Shade of Carn Dûm
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It means, at least to me, that although Melkor, and later Sauron, was banished from beyond all the circles of the world, what they strove for (the dominion of Hate and Terror over the children of Illuvitar, ect) was, at least in part, successfull. When has any of us not felt afraid, or hateful? According to Tolkien, the thought that was planted within the first genrations of humanity still holds true today. So, yes, úmëa ér uilë.
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I drink Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters! ~ Always remember: pillage BEFORE you burn. |
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