Sauron and Istari - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

denethorthefirst · 12-10-2014, 06:37 PM

Sauron and the Maiar that later became the Istari spent eons together before the creation of time and space and they sang together during the music of the Ainur. After the Music they labored side by side for ages during the shaping of Arda and then lived together in Almaren and even in Valinor (although Sauron sympathized and spied for him he openly joined Melkor relatively late (some time after the overthrow of the two lamps)). So it's safe to say that they "knew" each other, but that doesn't necessarily has to mean that Sauron would recognize them in Middle-Earth.
I don't know if he ever discovered their true identities but I am fairly certain that he came to the only logical conclusion: that they must be Maiar sent from Valinor. He also had direct contact with Saruman through the Palantir and it's possible that he recognized him (they served together under Aule).
But even if Sauron didn't immediately recognize Saruman, he dominated him relatively quickly and so either read his mind or forced him to tell him everything about the Istari and their quest. Would he be worried? I guess he would be, not so much because of the Istari themselves (for all intents and purposes they are just supercharged humans, Sauron was far more powerful than any of them and also not limited by his form, whereas the naturally weaker Istari where further weakened by their human Incarnation) but the simple fact that the Valar cared enough to have sent them must have worried him because it demonstrated that the Valar hadn't forgotten or given up on Middle-earth!
See also this thread: http://forum.barrowdowns.com/showthr...?t=2412&page=2

12-10-2014, 06:37 PM	#31
denethorthefirst Haunting Spirit Join Date: Jul 2014 Posts: 81	Sauron and the Maiar that later became the Istari spent eons together before the creation of time and space and they sang together during the music of the Ainur. After the Music they labored side by side for ages during the shaping of Arda and then lived together in Almaren and even in Valinor (although Sauron sympathized and spied for him he openly joined Melkor relatively late (some time after the overthrow of the two lamps)). So it's safe to say that they "knew" each other, but that doesn't necessarily has to mean that Sauron would recognize them in Middle-Earth. I don't know if he ever discovered their true identities but I am fairly certain that he came to the only logical conclusion: that they must be Maiar sent from Valinor. He also had direct contact with Saruman through the Palantir and it's possible that he recognized him (they served together under Aule). But even if Sauron didn't immediately recognize Saruman, he dominated him relatively quickly and so either read his mind or forced him to tell him everything about the Istari and their quest. Would he be worried? I guess he would be, not so much because of the Istari themselves (for all intents and purposes they are just supercharged humans, Sauron was far more powerful than any of them and also not limited by his form, whereas the naturally weaker Istari where further weakened by their human Incarnation) but the simple fact that the Valar cared enough to have sent them must have worried him because it demonstrated that the Valar hadn't forgotten or given up on Middle-earth! See also this thread: http://forum.barrowdowns.com/showthr...?t=2412&page=2 Last edited by denethorthefirst; 12-12-2014 at 04:36 PM.