Thanks for all the interesting replies so far! Yes,
Maédhros, I agree that a journey by ship is implied, but it is never said outright that the Istari came by ship.
davem, you make an excellent point about the difference between Ainur and angels in that the Ainur who came to Middle-earth no longer have access to the heavens, so there is no need for travelling back and forth there.
Gurthang, your comments about the Ainur being able to take a shape, with or without wings, echo a chat conversation I had with
Sharkû today. I have his permission to quote it, so here is what he said, summed up:
Quote:
I can't really spend the time in good conscience to post today, but my opinion (which is after all 99% close to truth) about Ainur wings is: Since they were relatively free in the form they could choose, they definitely *were able * to have them... If you can be a friggin tree, you can have wings, right? However, they wouldn't necessarily need them to 'fly', unless incarnated to a higher degree (eagles???).
But it also says many liked to imitate forms of the Creation, so some might choose the form of a winged humanoid, or a big bird to travel in order to form a link to the children (and not just be invisible). Also there is one winged Ainu or at least Eala: Thuringwethil.
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