Long Was He at Work
We are venturing into some pretty complex territory. It warrants its own post, but I must go into considerable detail to convey a sentence-long point. Nevertheless, what evidence I have used here is (I believe) sufficient to prove the validity of the theory, and relevant to the topic of this post. I will preserve the remainder for when I can post this theory separately.
Lest we forget:
“I’ve been awake since before the breaking of the First Silence. In that time, I have had many names” (Sauron, 1×08).
When he was first introduced, Galadriel called him “a cruel and cunning sorcerer.” This description, along with the question mark surrounding the sincerity of his so-called repentance, is imperative to remember throughout the season, to ensure that we ourselves are not deceived by his tricks after knowing who he is and what he has done (as were Pharazôn and Saruman). I repeat the first thing said of him: he is a cruel and cunning sorcerer.
The showrunners do not underestimate the intelligence of the viewer. They created an origin for mithril that is very plausible, and those who find it convincing enough to believe (like myself at first) have many reasons to do so. However, an “out” has been offered for viewers who wish not to trust the story. Why would the showrunners do this for no reason? Would they set it up, only to reveal that every word was true? (No.)
Did Elrond describe the true fading of the Elves? (No.)
Being a cruel and cunning sorcerer, does Sauron’s form of a thirty-year-old man named Halbrand, who occasionally sheds a tear to garner sympathy, rule out any possibility of him using sorcery? (No.)
We heard Sauron’s whispers as the mithril healed the leaf in episode 7.* Does this prove that whatever power the mithril possessed came from whence some Elves believe? Did it originate from a good source? (No.)
* See: Sauron Rebuilt.
As I have said before, when it comes to The Rings of Power, we cannot accept obscure things at face value. There is a reason Elrond said that The Roots of Hithaeglir was regarded by most to be apocryphal—because it is apocryphal.
J.D. Payne: We knew the rings needed to have a special power to them. Some of that could be in what Sauron inculcates from the unseen world and what Celebrimbor is able to do in terms of beauty. But we thought it could be interesting to play with the kind of power they have. […]
Patrick McKay: But also, we know Elrond is a lore master, and he is aware of this tale. He says in that fifth episode that it’s apocryphal. I would trust his read on a piece of lore. Mithril is unusual in Middle-earth. […] We felt there were possibilities to hint that maybe there’s a little more to it—but maybe not.
It is more than likely that he who has had many names once took the name of “Amlach”—the man after whom he disguised himself in order to poison Men against Elves in the First Age, according to Morgoth’s will.*
* It is not explicitly stated that this was Sauron, but given he is the most notorious shape-shifter, and for that reason “became the greatest and most trusted of the servants of the Enemy, and the most perilous,” it is the safest assumption.
“But there arose one who seemed to all to be Amlach son of Imlach, speaking fell words that shook the hearts of all who heard him: ‘All this is but Elvish lore, tales to beguile newcomers that are unwary. The Sea has no shore. There is no Light in the West. You have followed a fool-fire of the Elves to the end of the world! Which of you has seen the least of the Gods? Who has beheld the Dark King in the North? Those who seek the dominion of Middle-earth are the Eldar. Greedy for wealth they have delved in the earth for its secrets and have stirred to wrath the things that dwell beneath it, as they have ever done and ever shall. Let the Orcs have the realm that is theirs, and we will have ours. There is room in the world, if the Eldar will let us be!’
Then those that listened sat for a while, astounded, and a shadow of fear fell on their hearts; and they resolved to depart far from the lands of the Eldar.”
Of the Coming of Men into the West
It is no coincidence that an apocryphal tale—a “fool-fire of the Elves”—conveyed the perfect opposite of everything above; and it is by no means a stretch to say that Sauron himself would spread such a “fool-fire” among the Elves, leading them to the very delving of which he accused them, “as they have ever done and ever shall.”
Let us once again compare Sauron to Morgoth, while remembering that Sauron “rose as a shadow of Morgoth and a ghost of his malice,” doing the same things to lead him along “the same ruinous path down into the Void.”
Morgoth | “From that time forth, inflamed by this desire, he sought ever more eagerly how he should destroy Fëanor and end the friendship of the Valar and the Elves; but he dissembled his purposes with cunning, and nothing of his malice could yet be seen in the semblance that he wore.
Long was he at work, and slow at first and barren was his labour. But he that sows lies in the end shall not lack of a harvest, and soon he may rest from toil indeed while others reap and sow in his stead.”
Of the Silmarils and the Unrest of the Noldor
Sauron | “Many Elves dwelt there indeed […] but they were Avari, to whom the deeds of Beleriand were but a rumour and Valinor only a distant name. And in the south and in the further east Men multiplied; and most of them turned to evil, for Sauron was at work. […]
…his pride grew apace. He looked with hatred on the Eldar, and he feared the Men of Númenor who came back at whiles in their ships to the shores of Middle-earth; but for long he dissembled his mind and concealed the dark designs that he shaped in his heart.“
Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age
Everything surrounding Morgoth and the Silmarils is a direct precursor to Sauron and the Rings. Morgoth’s portion may be read as a description of Sauron, and nothing would be lost, though the phrase, “while others reap and sow in his stead,” implies that the others include Sauron himself, and Morgoth rests from toil in the Void. Note in Sauron’s portion that many Elves were vulnerable to fables and legends, since “the deeds of Beleriand were but a rumor and Valinor only a distant name.” What is the common denominator?
Lies were spread to deceive and divide, in the interest of and for the gain of the deceiver. Both Morgoth and Sauron dissembled their respective purposes, and concealed their dark designs so that nothing of their malice could yet be seen in the semblance that they wore. Long were they at work, and slow at first and barren was their labor.
After Morgoth stole the Silmarils, the light of Valinor was destroyed on his account. This event was replicated by the accelerated fading of the light of the Eldar, courtesy of Sauron. If these events directly parallel each other, Sauron may not have poisoned the Great Tree with his own hands, no more than Morgoth himself consumed the light of the Two Trees; yet both were responsible.
At Morgoth’s request, Ungoliant consumed the light of the Two Trees. As we move forward, consider who Sauron might have persuaded to poison the Great Tree.
“We thought our light would never dim. So when the Great Foe, Morgoth, destroyed the very light of our home, we resisted” (Galadriel, 1×01).
“But despite our every effort, our decline has only quickened. […] the light of the Eldar, our light, is fading” (Gil-galad, 1×05).
We have already stated that the song of The Roots of Hithaeglir, which speaks of a battle over a tree, is one lie that Sauron sowed, and his harvest would begin centuries later. What would spreading such a story look like, and how/why would it take centuries? After the Elves know of Sauron’s designs when the One Ring is forged, how will they react when they realize the consequences of giving credence to his intriguing suggestions?
Imagine that “Melkor” is “Sauron,” and perhaps the remainder of Morgoth’s passage will answer those questions:
“Ever Melkor [Sauron] found some ears that would heed him, and some tongues that would enlarge what they had heard; and his lies passed from friend to friend, as secrets of which the knowledge proves the teller wise. Bitterly did the Noldor atone for the folly of their open ears in the days that followed after.”
Of the Silmarils and the Unrest of the Noldor
Now, compare that to an exchange between Durin and Sauron’s mirror image (Elrond):
Elrond: “My aim was never to defeat you, but to gain your ear a while longer.“
Durin: “Elf lies” (1×07).
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