[Finwe]

*applauds Man-of-the-Wold's post*


Sauron most definitely knew the location of Imladris. After the forging of the Rings of Power, and after the "Rebellion" of Celebrimbor, Sauron led a mighty army to conquer all of Middle-earth. He swept through Eriador with fire and sword, completely destroying the land, and laid siege to Ost-in-Edhil, the capital of Eregion. His forces overran the city, and Celebrimbor was taken at the last, desperately defending the main treasury of the Gwaith-i-Mirdain. Sauron tortured Celebrimbor so that he would reveal the location of the Rings of Power, but that brave Elf only told him the location of the Rings of Men and the Rings of the Dwarves. The Rings that he loved the most, the Three Elven Rings, he still kept safe. Sauron grew frustrated, and killed Celebrimbor, and used his body, shot through with Orc arrows, as his banner.

Sauron then turned his attentions to all of Eriador. He marched over the land, with destruction, fires, murders, and oppression as his vanguard and total devastation as his lieutenant. When he made it to the middle of Eriador, he dispatched a mighty force to Rivendell, to keep Elrond cornered, and possibly try to take Rivendell. Elrond, however, held out desperately and Rivendell was safe for the moment. Sauron turned West, and marched to Lindon. There, the Elves, led by Gil-galad and Cirdan, desperately held the River Lhun, in last defence of the Grey Havens. If those were lost, then all hope for the Elves would also be lost. The Elves did not stand much of a chance against Sauron's overwhelmning army. Just then, though, the Numenorean navy, sent by Tar-Minastir, entered the harbor, with banners flying, guns blazing (figurative), and swords at the ready. The doughty Numenoreans leapt off their ships, and together with the Elves, drove Sauron back. They chased him all the way back to Mordor, and all that was left of his mighty army was a small amount of guards that he managed to flee to Mordor with. The Elves and Numenoreans then turned to Rivendell, and helped Elrond massacre the remnant of Sauron's army.

What this shows is, Sauron's mind was constantly on Rivendell, because he had guessed that the Elven Rings had been "committed to Elvish guardians (Gil-galad and Galadriel)." Since Elrond was Gil-galad's viceregent, and very close to him, Sauron probably guessed at the truth. He knew where Imladris was, he just didn't have the manpower to go capture it. In the Third Age, Sauron could have probably taken Imladris, if Smaug had been allowed to live. There isn't much you can do about a dragon, unless you're Earendil, and Elrond wasn't his father. Gandalf knew that, and that was why he made sure that Smaug had been "bumped off." That manpower was absolutely necessary to get all the way to Imladris, from Mordor, and still deal with all the mighty Elves who lived there.