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But deep in the hearts of all my kindred lies the sea-longing, which it is perilous to stir. Alas! for the gulls. No peace shall I have again under beech or under elm.
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So says Legolas, when he first sees the gulls. What is the nature of sea-longing? Clearly, not all the elves that came in contact with the sea departed immediately for Valinor. In the First Age, in fact, many of them sailed over the sea away from it.
My current shadowy hypothesis is that sea-longing only began to exist after Eönwë summoned all the elves back to Valinor, though I'm not certain whether the Valar would be able to plant something like this into them. Furthermore, this does not explain how Círdan lives at the Grey Havens and looks at the sea every day. Does he simply have more reason to stay than Legolas does?
Or am I completely wrong?
--Belin Ibaimendi
[ November 15, 2002: Message edited by: Belin ]