LotR -- Book 1 - Chapter 10 - Strider

[Formendacil]

Originally Posted by alatar

And, as stated, who would get the shards if Aragorn died? He would begat no heir unless he destroyed Sauron. Elrond, sooner or later, was leaving Middle Earth, as was giving away those things that were to remain in the east. What a yard sale that would be!

Presumably his next-of-kin, or the next rightful descendent of Isildur.

That descendent may or may not have been as pureblooded a Númenorean as Aragorn, and he (making a presumption here) may have been of a rather less elder line, but Aragorn was NOT, I deem, the only descendent of Aranarth, I would deem. His mother's father, Dírhael, was a descendent of Aranarth, and it would seem likely to assume that he was not the only one.

Now, that does not mean that there wouldn't have been a good deal of strife amongst the Dúnedain of the North, nor that the next in line would have been clear, or that the next in line would have been a good leader- but, assuming all things of that nature were sortable, there would have been a next-in-line, and he would have been the next rightful heir to Narsil.

It is possible, of course, that Elrond would have retained Narsil after Aragorn's death, but upon his departure into the West, Narsil would (with the other heirlooms of Arnor) have been, in proper conduct anyway, returned to the Dúnedain.

It all makes sense now. And PJ didn't have the better idea...phew!

Never for a minute worry that he did.