Welcome to our humble Tolkien-obsessed universe, Friend of Fingon. I hope you find your stay here, as I'm sure we'll find your posts, enjoyable.
Slow-witted? Well, I don't think so [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]. TheNazgul
would have been formiddable aerial fighters; however, your pointing-out of the Eagle's involvement in the War of Wrath does cast some doubt into the theory that the Nazgul would have been able to beat them.
It raises another issue, as well. Along with your statement:
Quote:
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because the plight of the ring was for the free peoples of Middle Earth to accomplish. The Eagles, although mortal, were considered the messengers and servants of Manwe...
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. In the War of Wrath, which was for the salvation of the Free Peoples of Middle-Earth, the Eagles played a significant part. The Valar certainly had a part in this part of Middle-Earthian history; admittedly this situation was rather different, then.
But there are also the Istari, without whom the Free Peoples of Middle-Earth would also have been destroyed. They too were a direct intercession on the part of the Valar, so as you can see, the War of the Ring was not entirely fought only by people of Middle-Earth. The Eagles themselves had a part in the War of the Ring as well; there was first the rescue of Thorin and Co (most important), and then the Battle of Five Armies,
and along with that there was Gwaihir's rescue of Gandalf from Orthanc -- absolutely vital -- and from Zirak-Zigil, equally vital. Yes... so as you can see the Valar, even through the Eagles, which are the subject of our discussion here, did
not in fact leave the War of the Ring up to the peoples of Middle-Earth at all.
I should have thought that an Eagle attack on Mordor, while a
seemingly more forthright act than those stated above, could have been counted to fall under this permissable Valarin involvement.
[img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]
Having said this, it is true that a glorious Eagle attack would have almost totally taken away from the Gondorin/Human/Elvish fighting contribution to the victory of the War of the Ring. Aragorn would not have proved himself, and neither would Gondor have; who knows? perhaps Gondor would have gone soft after this, a land become sheltered, with a protected king. At any rate, the fact that Aragorn and Gondor/Rohan had to
fight, in battle, for their salvation
is important.
Perhaps this particular element of the War of the Ring
was better left up to Middle-Earthians, then. Hmmm... [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] still, the fact remains that it would be Frodo who would have to throw the ring into the fire in the end. That he was transported there by the Eagles can, perhaps, in this case be said to play a similar role to that of Gwaihir in rescuing Gandalf.
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Having worked myself up to this point in a
somewhat haphazard fashion, I will conclude by reaffirming by belief that the Eagles, while undoubtedly terrible fighters, would not have carried such a mission as this through. The chance that they would be 'feared' out of the sky is a distinct one, as well as the possibility of their being dismayed and quenched by Sauron's massive emanating psionic power (there would have been no greater power there to shield them from this, and they could not have escaped the range of Sauron's Eye were they to execute this mission). There is more, though.
It is interesting to note that Gwaihir, reported to have been in the area at the time of the Battle of the Pellenor, did not lead any attack on the Nazgul themselves in this battle; neither could they attack the Nazgul in the battle before the Gates, a battle in which they were definitely there in numbers. It may well be that the feat was beyond them, you know.
Finally, the really
clinching reason for me is the Nazgulian ability to 'sniff' out the Ring's whereabouts, especially within Mordor itself I should think. As I have pointed out, it is likely that they would know
exactly which Eagle (i.e. the one that was carrying Frodo) to go for. The power of all nine of them at once, supported by the nearby Sauron, would have scattered Eagles right and left in their charge; and whichever unfortunate Eagle happened to be carrying Frodo would be mercilessly beaten out of the sky and pillaged for his Ringbearer and Ring. The other Eagles wouldn't matter. The Nazgul would have, surgically almost, removed the Ring from the Eagle pack with mightful ease -- and then of course it would have failed.
Rather a long ramble, and done hastily as well... it should be understandable [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]. Anyway, welcome again. I hope it's of some use.
[ August 27, 2003: Message edited by: Gwaihir the Windlord ]