sauron winning?

[Morthoron]

Originally Posted by Mnemosyne

Hey, there, Andsigil, don't you go a-moping!
Darkness may be on the rise, but light is still a-coping!
If you're drawing parallels between life and this Story,
Don't forget that post-defeat's Eucatastrophic glory!

Quite funny and genre appropriate.

Originally Posted by Mnemosyne

...Sauron isn't nearly as awesome as Morgoth was, and the army that challenges him at the Black Gates isn't anything like what faced him at Dagorlad, which in turn is dwarfed by the Union of Maedhros and the Nirnaeth Arnoediad.

You're right about Sauron's army. I don't even believe the force he put up at the Morannon would make much of a dent against Ar-Pharazon's Numenorean army -- you know, the Numenoreans that made Sauron's legions run away like frightened rabbits.

In any case, the thing everyone seems to be missing is that the Valar would not or could not have sent an army if Sauron was victorious at the end of the 3rd Age. After Eru destroyed Numenor and caused the reshaping of the world, there was an obvious prohibition on the Valar offering such overt assistance to Middle-earth; which is why the Istari were sent to aid the Free Peoples rather than Eonwe and a heavenly host.

It seems to me that there would be no further divine armies descending upon the world until Tolkien's version of Ragnarök.

P.S. It seems I can't add to your reputation, Mnemo, as I am required to spread the love around. I really despise the way reputation works. What if there are only a few intelligent posters and everyone else sucks? Not that that is the case here, of course. ;p