Ulmo and Aulë: Lazy, Busy, or Unaware

[The Perky Ent]

In 'Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath', we know that Maedhros and Maglor are the only living survivors of the sons of Feanor. After being convinced by his brother, Maglor helps Maedhros break into the camp of the Valar, and steals the remaining simarils. Maedhros can't take the burning the simaril causes him, and jumps into a fiery chasm, along with the Simaril. Maglor, on the other hand, throws the simaril into the sea, and 'he came never back among the people of the Elves'. Wether he is dead, or walks the shores forever singing tragic songs of despair is of debate.

Sorry for the little history lesson, but it's important to my topic (which I will now get to!). With that little recap, we know that the brothers couldn't take the burning of the simarils, and threw the simarils into the ocean and earth. According to Quenta Silmarilion, that's the end of that. But then I started thinking: "Wait a minute. The valar deeply wanted the simaril. And Ulmo is the God of the sea. And Aulë is that of land. Wouldn't they, as they were the masters of those elements, be able to reclaim the simarils? Ulmo could have spent his times underwater (since it is mentioned in the Silmarilion that he spends most of his time away from Valinor, in the oceans of Middle Earth) looking for the lost simaril of Maglor. It couldn't have gotten that far from the coast. Being the Lord of water, the Aquaman if you will, surely he could have found it.

And what about Aulë (Aulë didn't actually pop into my head until I had finished the first paragraph ). He is a master of the lands. Although he doesn't spend as much time away from Valinor as Ulmo, surely he could have taken the time to look for Maedhros' simaril. He couldn't have gotten that far from the camp of the valar, and a 'fissure' couldn't be that hard to find (especially for someone as powerful and well known as Aulë). So here is my question: Were Ulmo and Aulë too lazy to look for the simarils (ie they felt it was best just to leave them alone), too busy with their Valar duties to stop and look for the simarils, or were they just unaware of the first paragraph i wrote, and dindn't know of the simarils fate?

[Gurthang]

I would actually go with 'D'. It might have been that they were forbidden to retrieve them.

Since Feanor didn't give the Silmarils to the Valar, the Valar had no right to them. Manwe might have considered them stolen property if they had been brought back and given to him. It is very possible that they, Aule and Ulmo, would have known where the Silmarils were, but knowing that they would have known I think they must have been told not to go get them. If that is not the case, I would have to go with option 'C': they didn't know/couldn't find them.

But it could also be that the Valar no longer had use for the Silmarils. The Two Trees had been dead for 10,000(?) years. I think that in the Silmarillion it says that if the Silmarils had been brought back quick enough, the Trees could have been saved. With so much time passed, the Trees were likely dead beyond recalling. And since the Trees could not be brought back using the Silmarils, the Valar had no more need of them.

[The Perky Ent]

I can see your point. Sure, they could have just taken it from him when he refused to give it to them after the two trees died, but it wasn't theirs, so they didn't. Plus all those other reasons Good to see the valar have some morals. Still, I agree that at this point the trees could not be saved. However, the simarils would see be of some use to the Valar. If not to obtain their light, then just as some sort of memorial. This kinda brings my B options. I highly doubt they would be unaware though, for an object that had ruled the fate of the first age.

[Formendacil]

In the case of the Silmaril in the earth, there is good reason to have left it alone. This Silmaril was, as noted, cast there by Maedhros, presumably during the tumults that destroyed Beleriand. Aule would naturally be loath to retrieve it for the simple reason of doing more damage. He might have the POWER to go digging around in the earth to retrieve the Silmaril, but doing so would cause tumultuous damage. It's like when the Valar were fighting Melkor in an earlier time; they were afraid to fight to the fullest of their ability for fear that the resulting chaos would endanger the Children of Eru.

Furthermore, what POINT is there to the Valar retrieving the Silmarils? It's all very well to have them in your posession, but the only reason the Valar wanted them in the first place was to rekindle the Two Trees- a rekindling that would involve the breaking of the Silmarils, a task that only Feanor could accomplish.

And as Feanor is locked up in Mandos until the end of time, and since he pretty much made clear that he wasn't unlocking them in the near future, I really doubt that the Valar had any reason to go Silmaril-hunting. The Silmarils were just as safe under 1000 feet of stone and earth, or under the accumulating silt of the seas as they would be in the hands of Manwe or lighting up the sky with Earendil.

[Legolas]

This will be brief for now, but I've always thought that Ulmo simply wouldn't want to retrieve it. Why would he? Of the Valar, he was the most directly involved and informed, as well as seemingly the most apt (and vocal) in perceiving impending doom, especially as it related to the happenings in Beleriand.

[Mithalwen]

I think also they would think that they are best out of reach even with Feanor and his son's dead or as good as. The one that they do get under their control they set in the sky. What would they do with the others that would have the same symbolism? Three Silmaril stars reduces rather than increases the impact.

I think there is a lot of symbolism - The Silmarils are the antitype of the Three Elven rings. The Silmarils are the product of the greatest craftsmen, are withheld from the common good, are seized by the evil being that desires them and the result is much destruction and suffering. They are in essence trapped fire and finish up distributed among the other three elements - earth, water and air.

The three rings in origin come from the earth and represent and have particular influence over each of the three other elements. By bestowing them on peopel who wil use them forthe common good they are saved from the evil power who desires them and help to preserve the realm of Lorien, the refuge of Imladris and aid Gandalf in his work.