[Thingol]

So many questions, so little time [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]
I do not believe that Mandos was allowed to reveal all of the fait of Arda, I believe I read somewhere that Illuvitar prohibited him from telling Manwe and the other Vala everything. Manwe must have hoped that Melkor had really reformed and I guess Mandos must have thought/known that waiting to beat up Melkor was for the best. As for the question as to why the Valar didn't just go and capture Sauron imidiatly, it says in the Silmarillion that seeing the fall of his master Sauron humbled himself before Eonwe and asked for forgiveness. But since Sauron was of the same order as Eonwe, Eonwe said Sauron had to go to Aman to be pardoned. Sauron chickens out and goes and hides. I don't think that the Valar were able to find Sauron and with Belriand sinking and all the destruction going on I guess they just thought it was best to leave him. By the time Sauron declared himself openly again, the Valar would have had to do more damage to ME to get him again. Plus as you pointed out they probably knew it was going to turn out better if the ring was kept in ME. Even without the ring Sauron probably would have overcome ME, so it makes sense that the Valar wouldn't want to take it. As for the why the elves had to fade, I think it is just a quality of ME itself. It says everything fades quicker in the appendix of The Return of the King (Ex: The span of men’s lifetime’s gets shorter and shorter). As for Aman, I think it is similar to Lorien in that time doesn't have the same affect as it does in ME. It actually says that Beren dies quicker because he is exposed to the light of the silmarill. I guess men can’t handle the differences in the passage of time. I do not know what Barrow Wight’s e-mail is. Hope this answers some of your questions, and I'm sure someone will point out if any of my info isn't completely correct.

[ January 09, 2002: Message edited by: Thingol ]